


Stygian Slippers

by MyVantilene



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cinderella, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, M/M, it's embarrassing how long this took me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 20:12:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1441309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyVantilene/pseuds/MyVantilene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don’t think it’s the magic; I think it’s you.” Jason said, squeezing his hand. Nico scowled.<br/>“Well, have fun with it while you can, I turn back at midnight.”<br/>“That’s perfectly fine with me.”</p><p>Cinderella AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stygian Slippers

Nico woke up to Hazel nudging him, panic flashing in her golden eyes.

“What’s going on?” he asked or at least that’s what he meant to ask, because his words came out too slurred to be recognizable.  

“You fell asleep in my room. If you don’t get back to the attic before Persephone does, you’re dead.”

Nico didn’t have to be told twice.

He practically flew up the stairs, making sure to hold his apron up so he didn’t trip over it. The effort was in vain, because just as soon as he made it to the third floor, his foot snagged on the ends of it and he went tumbling into someone.

“I’m terribly sor—” he stopped in his tracks when he looked up.

Persephone’s face was red, not just from anger, but also from the scathing tea that drenched her. She was sprawled out on the floor, opposite of Nico, who quickly scrambled up and began trying to undo the damage, muttering apologies ceaselessly.

“Don’t touch me,” she shouted, smacking his hand away, “ _Filthy child._ ” He winced.

“I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t see you, I —”

“Why aren’t you in the attic? Or preparing lunch, for that matter?”

“Um… I was polishing the China.”

“Really?” Her cold eyes seemed to cut right through him, and it took every ounce of strength he had to keep his legs from shaking.

“Yes, m’am.”

“Well, the garden outside needs tending to, and when you’re done with that there’s the fireplace, which is particularly dreadful during these winter months, mind you, and the laundry, and don’t forget about dinner. It’s bad enough I had to fix myself lunch.”

“Yes, m’am.” He lowered his head, and stalked off toward the gardens.

The House of Hades was a marble mansion a little on the small side compared to its neighbors. It had sloping arches and sweeping staircases and the spaciousness of it all made Nico feel empty as he made his way to the gardens. The man of the house, Hades himself, was a powerful and influential advisor to King Zeus, but he hardly spent any time at home. Nico had only met the man once, and once was more than enough. He was rich, but he never sent any more money than was necessary to the household. Persephone was used to being spoiled by her mother, and she expected the same treatment, if not, better from him. Instead, she was left at home with no extravagant luxuries, no servants to do her bidding, no regular visits from her husband, and three children — make that two, since the eldest had run away years ago — and none of them were hers.

She decided she’d do with what she had, and Nico was forced into servitude. The money that was supposed to cover his expenses went to other things, like fine China and imported flowers. She had sold all of his old clothes from before the marriage, leaving him with homemade shorts and shirts made from recycled sacks. He kept his birth mother’s apron, although it went down to his ankles and sometimes caused _accidents_.

Bianca had run away before all of that, though. She thought Nico had found a safe home, and felt like she was free to travel the world. Nico had been hurt and bitter over it for a while, but in the end… he was just glad she could finally be free. He knew he wasn’t an easy kid to deal with, and Bianca had practically raised him on her own. Now, at least, he wasn’t a burden to her.

Hazel had come a couple years later, and Nico was so grateful it wasn’t just him and Persephone anymore, but that was probably selfish.

She worked alongside him at first, but once she started showing signs of magical promise, Persephone took Hazel under her wing and taught her the in’s and out’s of sorcery. She moved out of the attic and got her own room on the second floor, and soon Persephone started buying her dresses and Nico was preparing meals for two.

He wrapped a kerchief around his head to keep his hair from falling into his eyes. It was freezing outside, and he couldn’t keep his teeth from chattering, or his hands from shaking while he was trying to trim the bushes. Hazel snuck out from another one of Persephone’s “lessons” when he was almost finished watering the plants.

“You’re shaking like a leaf.” She frowned, “I can grab you a coat real quick, I’m sure Persephone won’t mind.”

“I’m sure she will,” he said, moving on to the strawberry patch, “She hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you.”

“Hazel, I’m watering strawberries in the dead of winter. I’m pretty sure she hates me.”

“Aw, come on,” she gave him a sisterly peck on the cheek, “No one could hate you.”

Before he could argue, Persephone called her back inside.

The problem with dinner was that he had forgotten to visit the market yesterday, so he had to go today and hope that he made it back in time to actually put something together. The last time he served dinner late, Persephone had turned him into a dandelion for a week.

He ran all the way there, even though his stomach ached and his basket weighed him down. He zipped through crowds and street performers sinuously, but forgot to hold up his apron and ended up barreling into something _hard_. It took him a second of lying in the dirt to realize that he had knocked into some _one_ and not some _thing_.

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry,” he began picking up the apples and oranges that had been scattered, depositing them into the stranger’s basket, “I’m just — so clumsy, it’s my fault, really.” He didn’t want to meet this someone’s eyes, so after all the fruit was back where it belonged, he ducked away, trying to lose himself in the crowd and somehow manage to get back to Persephone’s before dark.

Someone grabbed his arm.

Alarms were going off in his head. He wanted to run, but he was scared of being chased. His heartbeat echoed in his chest, the sound clouding his head.

He finally turned around. _Someone_ was 6’1” with muscles that made Nico’s blood run cold in the fear of how capable they were of snapping him in two. His face was obscured by a brown hood, so he couldn’t make out much besides a thin, white scar on his lip.

He gulped.

“It’s my bad,” the stranger said, “I should’ve been looking where I was going.”

Nico just stared, which was probably rude, but so was knocking someone to the ground, and he’d already done that twice today.

“… You’re _not_ going to kill me?”

“Why? Am I that scary?”

“No! No, I just… I’m sorry for bothering you.” he gathered his apron in his hands this time, “I’ll just be going now…”

“Wait,” he called, and in a moment of pure stupidity, Nico stopped, “What’s your name?”

“Nico di Angelo.” He immediately regretted it. This guy was probably a mercenary, and he’d just given him an open invitation to get revenge later.

“Well, see you around, Nico di Angelo.” He gave him a wave before walking off.

Nico wished that was the last he’d see of him, but after he left the market place, the boy came to walk beside him.

“That basket looks heavy.” He said

Nico blinked. This was the politest mugger he’d ever encountered. And he’d encountered a lot.

“Look, I realize that you could easily break my bones and use them as a toothpick or whatever, but I’m not giving my basket up, not this time. I’ve got an angry step-mother waiting at home, and I’d rather die than come back empty handed, thank you very much.”

“Wh — what? I’m not trying to steal from you, Nico, I already have enough,” he lifted up his own basket, “Does this sort of thing happen to you a lot?”

Nico regarded him suspiciously.

“Why do you care? Why are you even talking to me if you don’t want my stuff?”

“Because — well, my name’s Jason. I feel like we started out on the wrong foot.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Well, you didn’t answer mine before. And I asked first.”

“Fine,” Nico huffed, “Yeah, being robbed is a pretty regular occurrence for me. Now you.”

“Honestly? I think you’re interesting. And this is my first time visiting the market. I want to know more about what it’s like.”

Nico side-eyed him.

“You’ve never been to a market?”

“Well…” Jason faltered, “Yeah. My sister always did the shopping, but she hasn’t really been around lately so I’ve got to figure out how to do all this stuff on my own and… I never realized how _big_ it was. It’s like another world.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. This Jason character may be shady, but there was no faking the wonder in his voice.

“No, man, it’s just a market.”

“It’s a place where all people of the kingdom come together.” He gave a lopsided grin, “You never know who you’re going to bump into next.”

“Ha, ha,” Nico deadpanned, readjusting his grip on the basket. The weaving was starting to bite into his hands, leaving behind angry, red indentions. He held the produce higher in defiance of his aching muscles.

“Do you need help with that?”

“Shouldn’t you worry about yourself?” Nico gritted, “Following me is probably going to get you lost.”

Jason frowned, taking it as a dig at his intelligence, probably.

“I can handle myself.” He eyed Nico’s basket again, not with the ill intent of a miscreant, but with… _concern_? Oh, _hell_ no.

“As can I.” His knuckles went ghost-white.

“Well,” Jason scratched the back of his neck, “Where you headed?”

“Home.”

Nico left out a ‘duh’ at the end. For a guy touchy about his lack of intelligence, he sure didn’t hide it that well.

“Where’s home?”

“Look.” Nico spun around to face him, “I appreciate you not killing me and everything, but _stalking_ _me_ isn’t any better.”

“I’m not —”

“You keep asking all these questions about me, but you won’t even take that stupid hood off your face!”

A pause.

And then slowly, hesitantly Jason lifted it from his face.

Another pause, this one stemmed from Nico’s inability to speak.

He was… _gorgeous_.

His skin was radiant, sun-soaked and golden, like he was running on solar energy. His blonde hair gleamed in the sunlight, and the sky was wrapped up in his eyes. Now that Nico really looked at him without fearing for his life, he could appreciate how pronounced his muscles were, how broad his shoulders, and overall, how _angelic_ he looked. No way was this boy talking to him. No _way_.

He said as much, without thinking better of it, and Jason laughed.

“At least I’m not scary anymore.”

“Well, you’re still following me home.” He observed, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Nico wasn’t fooled by this boy’s good looks. There was something he wanted. He wouldn’t be wasting his time otherwise.

“Would it be incredibly cliché if I said I wanted to see you home safely?”

Nico blanked. _What_.

“W-why?”

Jason gave him a look, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You said you get mugged a lot.”

“Oh. Well, thanks for the concern and all, but I’m fairly certain I can manage today.”

“Sure,” Jason said, but he didn’t sound convinced, “I was heading this way anyway, though.”  
“Really?” Nico raised an eyebrow, “Where do you live?”

“Um… I, uh, near the palace gates, sort of. It’s nothing special.”

“I live near the palace gates, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you.”

“Like I said, it’s nothing special. It was just me and my sister… until recently, that is.”

He sounded hurt, like his sister’s absence was a wound he wasn’t sure would heal. Nico could empathize.

“You’re all alone?” He asked gently.

Jason gave a sad smile, the sunlight streaming in through the trees illuminated his already-glowing skin.

“Yeah.”

They walked on in silence after that, and although it was comfortable, soothing even, just to be together in peace, it made Nico remember how cold he was.

His blood was warm from walking and struggling to lift the basket, which helped a little, but as the sun drifted further down, the shivering started again. He tried his best to stop it, but his teeth were chattering and his arms were shaking and when he looked over Jason’s eyes were filled with pity.

“Would you quit looking at me like that?” he spat.

“Do you want my hood?”

He didn’t want to freeze to death, but he also didn’t want to accept any help from Golden Boy Jason. Beautiful strangers always meant trouble in fairy tales, and although Nico’s life didn’t even remotely resemble one, he still saw this as a bad omen. A beautiful stranger willing to walk him home and carry his basket and lend him his coat? Definitely suspicious.

When he didn’t respond, Jason took it upon himself to drape the hooded coat over Nico anyway.

The effect was instantaneous.  

Nico’s shoulders relaxed, and the warmth seeped into his skin, removing the chill from his bones, and he unwittingly gave a small noise of relief. He immediately regretted it, seeing the way Jason’s eyes widened, but in the end, he cared more about his newfound warmth. God, it felt so _good_.

“Is this coat magic?” he asked, wrapping it tighter around his shoulders.

“It may have been enchanted a time or two. It changes temperature depending on a person’s needs.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“Uh… I don’t really remember.” Something in his voice made Nico doubt it, and the gears in his head started turning. He stopped in his tracks.

“Nico?”

“I’m such an idiot.”

“How do you figure?” Jason asked slowly, turning around to look at Nico.

“This coat is cursed, isn’t it? This was a trap, _wasn’t it?”_

“Whoa, Nico, calm down,” he put his hands up in a placating gesture, “It’s not cursed. What makes you think that?”

“Because… Because you’re being _nice_ to me,” his accusations were losing their vigor, “And you don’t seem to want anything from me…. And I… I…”

Jason approached Nico like he would a cornered animal.

“You’re questioning why I’m being nice to you, but you don’t question why I’d want to trick you?”

“Well, in my experience people aren’t just nice for no reason. There’s always an angle.” Nico’s eyes were still narrowed when he started to walk again.

Jason sighed, falling into step beside him.

“What if I just want to be nice? Have you ever considered that as an angle?”

“No,” he answered honestly, “People are only like that for family. And sometimes not even then.”

“That’s… depressing.”

Nico nodded.

“…Maybe you just haven’t met the right people then.”

“I don’t think other people are the problem.”

Jason’s eyebrows furrowed, but he left it at that, instead opting to change the subject.

“You live right outside the gates, don’t you? Whose house? Poseidon? Apo—”

“ _Hades_.” He hissed.

“Oh… Are you… well, how did you end up there?”

The uneasiness in his voice was palpable. Maybe once he figured out who he was talking to, he’d leave him alone.  Nico was almost glad — well, it was more complicated than _glad_. He felt _smug,_ proving to this princely stranger that his niceties had conditions, glad to _stick_ it to him, but maybe a little regretful that Jason had been wrong. Maybe a little sad to see the blonde go.

“I was born there.”

“You’re —“ he looked like a goldfish struggling to breathe, “but you can’t be—”

“Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, at your indentured service.” He gave an oily smile.

“But…” Nico felt a rush of satisfaction as he kept walking after Jason had stopped in shock, “But you’re too beautiful to be a son of Hades.”

…

Nico saw red.

Was this guy _serious_? Just because his estranged father had a… _reputation_ … that made it open season to _mock him_? Nico shouldn’t have even been that surprised, really, he was used to this kind of thing, but Jason had decided to be a gentleman — a handsome, knightly gentleman — making fun of him.

He spun on his heel, keeping the other boy pinned with a heated glare.

“You have some nerve talking to me like that,” he threw Jason’s coat on the floor, his breath hitching once the cold hit him, “I may not be the most _esteemed_ nobleman — I may not even be noble at all, but that doesn’t give you the right to make fun of me!”

Jason blinked uncomprehendingly. Nico tried to keep himself from shivering.

“Make fun of you?”

“ _Too beautiful_ ,” Nico sneered in a saccharine voice, “Is that your idea of a joke? I’ve heard better insults from five-year-olds.”

Jason frowned.

“It wasn’t supposed to be an insult.”

“Right, right, no offense and all that —“

“No.” he said firmly, picking up the fallen coat, “I wasn’t trying to be mean, or funny, or whatever. I was just a little surprised that you’re a son of Hades. I mean you’re so…” he trailed off vaguely and Nico gave a humorless smile.

“Beautiful? Yeah, _sure_.”

“Say what you want, but it’s true.”

“Oh, come on, _me_?” Nico sputtered.

Jason draped the coat around his shoulders again.

“Have you seen me?” he continued, voice rising, “Honestly seen me? Like — oh god. You’re not blind, are you?” The thought had never occurred to Nico. Jason’s eyes were a little too blue, that was a sign of blindness, right? He carried himself really well in that case.

“No, jeez, why would you even say that?”

“Uh, sorry. I just… don’t get what you’re trying to tell me here.”  
“I’m saying you’re a knock out.” Jason’s voice was overflowing with confidence and conviction; Nico was almost inclined to believe him. His blue eyes were blinding and Nico had to look away eventually.

“A knock out?” Nico’s nose crinkled, “That’s quite a stretch. Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but _have you seen me_?”

“Have you seen yourself, Nico?” he laughed, “Come on, just take the compliment.”

“No. You can keep it.”

“That’s not how compliments work.”

“I don’t care. It suits you more than it does me.”

Jason smiled, his scar rippling across his upper lip.

“Nico di Angelo, are you calling me a knock out?”

“I don’t see the point in denying the facts.”

“Funny,” Jason said, “Neither do I.”

Nico let his guard down for the rest of their walk after that. They talked idly all the way back to the palace gates.

“This is my stop.” He said once they approached the House of Hades, “I really got to hurry up and put dinner together or Persephone will kill me — oh, and I forgot to do finish sweeping, too, god she’s going to have a field day.”

When he turned back to Jason, the older boy’s brows were furrowed, and he stared at Nico as if he wasn’t really there.

“What?”

“Shouldn’t you have servants to do all this for you?”

Nico sighed.

“It’s my step mom. Well, my dad, too, but he’s not really around that much. He just sends money, but he doesn’t send as much money as Persephone’s used to. I’ve kind of got a suspicion that he has other households with other kids and other step moms to take care of. So I just work and well… I’ve never really been treated like a nobleman, and… I mean, that’s fine with me because, to tell you the truth, I’ve never really feel like one.”  

“Nico.”

“Oh, don’t get misty-eyed on me, it’s not that much a sob story. Or at least that part of it isn’t. Just,” he took the coat off and held it out for Jason, “… Don’t worry. And thanks, I guess… for everything.”

Instead of taking it, Jason held up a hand.

“No need to thank me. And I don’t really need the coat back.”

Nico wanted to argue, but it was so cold and he just put the coat back on resignedly. 

“Persephone’s waiting. I really should go.” He said, not looking the blonde in the eye.

“I suppose you should. Well, See you around, Nico di Angelo.” Jason laughed.

(Nico decided he liked the sound.)

Thankfully, dinner went on without a hitch. He may have cut it close with how long the roast was supposed to cook for, but Persephone didn’t seem to mind.

Hazel asked if Nico could eat with them, but like every other meal, Persephone said no.

“You’re lucky I’m letting _you_ eat,” she grumbled, cutting into the seasoned meat.

It didn’t really matter one way or another, though, because Hazel always made sure there were enough leftovers for him.

The rest of the evening carried on uneventfully, in fact, the next couple of days passed without incident. That was, until Poseidon’s son came home.

There was dancing in the street, parades thrown in his honor, feasts open for the public, yada, yada, yada. Nico didn’t attend any of it, although there was nothing he wanted more than to throw his arms around the son of Poseidon and – and do, well, other things — he was nothing if not disciplined. And if it hurt more to be with him than apart, he would keep his distance.  

So Perseus Jackson was back. So he saved the kingdom. Was Nico supposed to be impressed? Was he supposed to fall even _harder_?

Because that’s exactly what he did.  

He hated himself for it, threw himself as hard as he could into his work just to keep from thinking about the blonde girl Percy had come back with, about how great it must feel to be able to captivate the young nobleman, to feel secure in his arms, and for those sea-filled eyes to never stray from his face.

But how could he wish for something like that?

He took a basket of laundry outside, trying his best to ignore the festivities in the street. It was so much harder to forget your feelings for an unattainable, straight-as-an-arrow, freshly christened hero when the entire kingdom was rejoicing in his name.

Jason’s coat kept the winter chill at bay; at least he had that to be thankful for. As he hung the soaking linen up to dry, he hummed an old tune Bianca used to sing, content to let himself stew on that old wound rather than the fresh one.

“You’re not going to be in the parade?”

Nico jumped.

Jason stood behind him, dressed in white robes this time, a wool hood covering his face.

“Are you?”

He shook his head.

“Not my style,” his eyes flickered down to Nico’s shoulders, “I see you’re taking a liking to my coat.”

“Sorry,” he took in a deep breath to brace himself, then handed the coat to Jason, “You can have it back now.”

“I said you could keep it.”

“Really?” Nico deadpanned, cold disbelief distilled in his words, “You’re just going to let me keep this ridiculously warm, not-cursed coat? Because…?”

“Always looking for an ulterior motive,” Jason laughed, “How about I don’t want you to freeze to death?”

“Bullshit.” He said, but he wrapped it around his shoulders all the same.

“So why are you holding back from the parties? As a member of nobility it’s expected you at least show up for the feasts.”

“I believe we already covered why me being a nobleman isn’t a thing, Jason.”

“Maybe,” he shrugged, “But these types of things are open to the entire kingdom. You should live a little.”

Nico scowled at that, turning back to the laundry at hand.

“There’s too much work to do.”

“Why don’t you let me help?”

He made a move towards the basket, but Nico slapped his hand away.

“Absolutely not.”

“Oh, come on, what’s the harm?”

“These are delicates,” he insisted, despite the excuse being lame and both parties knowing it, “You could ruin them.”

“Let’s make a deal.” Jason went on as if he hadn’t heard, “If I can help you finish all your work by five o’clock, you’ll come with me to the evening feast.”

“It’s twelve o’clock now,” Nico shook his head, “There’s no way we could finish in five hours.”

“Then you have nothing to lose. If we don’t make the deadline, you don’t have to go to the feast, and I’ll still help you finish.”

Nico squinted.

“What’s in it for you?”

“A cure for boredom and a chance to see you in action.” he replied without skipping a beat.

“T-that’s a stupid reason.” Nico sputtered.

“Well, it’s enough for me. So what do you say, son of Hades?” he stuck his hand out, “Do we have a deal?”

\---------

Jason had the audacity to be smug at first, which made it even more satisfying to watch his bravado deteriorate as Nico listed off everything that had to be done.

“Are you serious? There’s no way we can do all that in a week.”

“Jason. Have you ever worked a day in your life?”

“Uh…” He scratched the back of his neck. Nico mused that he might be an Aphrodite kid. That would explain his lack of discipline… among other things. He grimaced.

“Right. Well, come on, we’ve got to sweep the stairs now if we want to have any time for lunch.”

Jason followed Nico’s lead through the empty corridors.

“You guys have a chef?”

“You’re looking at him.”

“... You’re serious.”

“As a heart attack.”

“You really _do_ have to do everything.”

Nico rolled his eyes.

“I’m aware. Now here,” he thrust a broom into Jason’s hands, “I’ll take the first half of the staircase, you take the bottom half.”

“But - uh, wouldn’t the dust from your half have to go to mine before I can start? We should both start at the top.”

“Fine.” he huffed, “I’ll take the left you take the right.”

“Yes, sir!” Jason gave a mock-salute and a little laugh as he bounded up the staircase. For a kid who’d never worked a day in his life, he looked ecstatic about it.

Nico wondered how long it would take for his spirit to break.

-

The answer? At around four o’clock when they were _still_ scrubbing the marble floors.

“Is this really necessary?” he groaned, “They were spotless before we started.”

“Well someone has to keep them that way.” Nico retorted. His onyx locks were held at bay by a white kerchief and the rest was tied back with a brown ribbon. His paper-thin sleeves were rolled up to his elbows to keep from getting drenched in the sudsy water that covered the floors, and his knees swam in the late Maria di Angelo’s apron. He bit his lip in concentration, trying to get a wine spill out of the marble. For a stain with no mental capabilities, it was pretty stubborn. Once the crimson had faded, he began to hum again, the old Italian lullaby his sister used to sing to him. He rubbed calming circles into the floor, and closed his eyes. It was his first moment of peace since Percy had returned home, his thoughts purged of the other boy and his sea-colored eyes, and he felt like a weight had been lifted. The crease in his brow dissipated, and his scowl dulled into something vaguely resembling a smile as he lost himself in the ancient melody.

“Wow.”

And the moment was brought to a discordant close.

He had forgotten Jason was even there for a moment, one blissful moment, which was pretty stupid since he’d been by his side all day.

Nico scowled, turning away from the awe-struck boy.

“Close your mouth. You catch flies like that.” He hissed.

“I… uh, I,” Jason gaped, “Sorry. It’s just that your voice…”

“Listen, I’m sorry if I’m tone deaf or whatever but can we please not drag this out? I’ll stop.”

“No, no, you sounded amazing.”

Nico snorted.

“You’re losing credibility every second, Jason.”

Jason frowned.

“Will you keep singing for me?”

Nico sent him a glare sharp with disbelief.

“Uh, no?”

He kept on scrubbing.

“Please? I promise I won’t say another word.”

“Tempting. But I’d rather hear you whine at me than my singing voice.”

“Fine. Then can I ask you a question?”

“Depends on the question.” Nico picked up his bucket and moved to cover the untouched part of the floor. Jason followed suit.

“Why do you have to work and your sister doesn’t?”

“Hazel has magic. And Persephone likes her a lot more than she does me. Sometimes I think the chores are just to keep me out of her sight. I mean, I don’t really have to go through all of this every single day. It doesn’t make much of a difference if I forget to sweep one day, but she can always tell when I haven’t somehow. I’ve learned to stop cutting corners.”

“She can’t do this to you. She has no right.” There was so much heat packed into his words, it made Nico look up.

“Are you… are you growling?”

“What? No. No, of course not.” The blush on his face was telling.

“What, were you raised by wolves, Jason? You should know better than to growl at your gracious host.” Nico smirked.

“My gracious host is making me mop the floor, I think I’m allowed my incivilities.”  He dipped the end of the mop in the bucket and made his way across the floor, swiping away day-old dust, “But seriously. Persephone shouldn’t be allowed to treat you like this. You deserve better.”

“’Deserve’ is a tricky word, Jason,” Nico gave a world-weary sigh, “There are a lot more people who deserve a lot more than me, and got a lot less. I’m pretty lucky, all things considered.”

“All things considered — are you hearing yourself? This isn’t some cosmic riddle, Nico. It’s simple. Your step-mom is abusive. And I,” he breathed in sharply, “I can get her to stop.”

“Really?” Nico raised an eyebrow, “What can you do?”

After a period of silence, Nico began to worry.

“You’re not going to… kill her, are you?”

“Wh — of course not. I’m not a murderer. I just… my sister works with the king’s knights. I’m pretty sure she could get him on your side and —“

“I doubt the king would care about my petty family problems.”

“Petty? You think this is petty? You work so hard for that woman! You slave over meals she won’t let you eat — you were on the verge of passing out until Hazel brought you her scraps, don’t think I didn’t notice — and she never shows you any gratitude. Your life is dedicated to pleasing a woman that’s never pleased, it’s sad. When was the last time you did something for yourself, huh? Do you have a life outside of this?”

Nico blinked, shock splayed across his features.

“No,” his expression hardened, “No, I don’t, Jason. I’m just a sad, pathetic excuse for a stepson. Thank you for pointing that out.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine you calling my life sad. But whatever, you’re right, anyway.” He gave an angry smile, “It is sad. But it’s the only one I’ve got.”

“It doesn’t have to be sad, Nico,” he draped his wrists over the mop, “You can let me help you.”

Nico shook his head.

“You can’t help me, Jason.”

“Then at least let me try.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Fine. But it won’t work out.”  
“Why not?”

He gave a bitter smile.

“Because nothing ever does for me.”

Technically, they got done around 5:13, but Nico let it slide.

Jason walked him to the feast, and they talked about breezy topics, like the Stoll brothers recent hijinks, and traded stories about Apollo. (Nico had seen the guy out watering his plants in his underwear, and when he caught him staring, he just gave a neighborly little wave.)

But when they approached the mammoth tent that housed the feast, Jason used his white (well it wasn’t as pristinely white as it had been before his fight with the fireplace) hood to cover his face.

“Scared you might be seen with me?” Nico smirked.

“No, it’s not that. I just… I’m not really supposed to be here.”

“Really? Why not?”

“You’re not the only one with a controlling step mother.” He winked, then grabbed Nico’s hand and dragged him toward the growing line.

“I can’t believe how much food they’re just — giving away.” Nico said, dark eyes full of wonder.

“Yeah. Whatever Jackson did out there, it sure must’ve been something.” He whistled.

Nico’s face fell. Jason must’ve noticed, because he immediately backpedaled.

“I mean, uh, it is a nice festival. I think I saw some street performers outside.”

“They’re always there.” Nico said grimly, and Jason realized his change in demeanor wasn’t over the juggling twins or the dancing gypsies.

“Okay. Did I say something wrong?”

“…No.” Nico sighed into his hands, breathing in the smell of ivory soap, leftover from washing the floors, “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing. Do you… not like big crowds or something?”

“I’m not a child, Jason.”

“It’s okay if you don’t, I mean, we all have our phobias, right? My sister’s tough as nails and a master with a sword, the best you’ll ever meet — and she’s terrified of heights. That doesn’t make her any less of a soldier.”

“I’m not afraid of _people_.” He snapped, then he raised an eyebrow, “What are you afraid of then? If we all have our phobias.”

“Me? Being buried alive.”

“That’s a legitimate fear, though.”

“Really? What are the odds of me being buried alive? Is it something I should worry about when I can’t sleep? No, but I do it anyway. Which makes it irrational,” They moved a little forward in line, “What about you?”

Nico knocked his fist against his thigh, back and forth, like a pendulum. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked anywhere but at Jason.

“Drowning.”

“I’d say that’s a rational fear. No one wants to drown.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t go near any body of water deeper than six inches without shaking. It’s pathetic.”

Jason shrugged.

“One time at the beach, I fell asleep and my sister buried me up to my ankles in sand. It took me five minutes to stop crying after I woke up.”

“Tantrums you threw when you were five don’t count.”

Jason looked at him, amused.

“I was fourteen.”

Nico choked.

“Wh — what? No way. But you’re —” he gestured vaguely at Jason, mumbling incoherently for a while before finally sputtering, “… seriously?”

“Yup,” he elbowed Nico, “I guess that means a trip to the beach is out of the question for both of us.”

 “You know… you mention your sister a lot, but you’ve never told me here name.”

“It’s — uh, Thalia,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “She’s a lieutenant of Artemis.”

Nico scratched at his jaw line.

“Thalia, huh? The name kind of sounds familiar…”

“Well, there are a lot of Thalia’s around these parts — it means joy, or something like that.”

“Hmmm… I guess you’re right. I don’t suppose you live at the House of Artemis too?”

“No, Artemis doesn’t really trust boys. She let’s me visit sometimes.”

“So I take it she’s not the wicked stepmother you mentioned earlier.”

Jason’s eyes took on a panicked gleam, like the anxious sky before a storm.

“No, uh… I —”   

“Nico!” a voice called from behind them. Jason didn’t get a chance to see who it was, but he noticed Nico’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

“Nico, is that you?” a tan, calloused hand came to rest on the younger boy’s shoulders, and he tensed immediately underneath the touch. Its owner had sea-green eyes and glossy black hair. His smile was blinding, and took up a good portion of his face.

“Perseus Jackson,” Jason marveled, not even being subtle about the amazement in his voice. Perseus regarded him with a smile.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Nico?”

“Pretty sure he already knows who you are, Percy.”

 _‘Percy’_ pouted at that, and Jason was suddenly very aware of how overly familiar his grip was on Nico.  And how despite the younger boy’s palpable discomfort, his dark eyes seemed almost brown when his gaze settled on the son of Poseidon.

“But I don’t know who he is! You haven’t replaced me while I was away, have you?” 

Nico snorted.

“ _Have you_?” he demanded, though there was definitely a jovial air to it.

“Hard to find someone as obnoxious as you, Hero,” he smiled, honest-to-goodness smiled and Jason’s heart leapt into his throat when those eyes focused on him again, “Jason here comes pretty close.”

“Hey!”

“Jason, huh?” _Percy_ gave him another once over and Jason knew he had to change the conversation quickly.

“So you guys know each other?”

Nico’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Jason almost regretted opening his mouth.

“Know each other?” Percy laughed, oblivious to how ready the boy under his arm was to judo-flip him, “He’s practically a brother to me.”

And if that wasn’t just the icing on the cake.

Nico looked like he would punch him at any moment. To Jason’s surprise, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply as Percy went on rambling about how close they are, and when he opened his eyes again, all his anger had been buried under a sad smile.  

“So,” the man of the hour — feast, whatever — turned to face Nico, “Why have you been avoiding me?”

“Wh — I haven’t.”

“Really? Because I stopped by your place a million times and you never showed up to any of the parades or anything,” he frowned, “Are you mad at me?”

“No. I’ve just been busy.” He crossed his arms.

Percy leaned in a bit and — oh god, was Nico blushing?

“Is it Persephone again?” he whispered, mindful of Jason.

“That’s none of your business.”

They communicated wordlessly after that, some code Jason couldn’t decipher, and Percy finally straightened himself.

“Well, there’s no need to be a stranger. You know you’re always welcome at the Poseidon household. God knows it’s too empty and — now, wait a minute. Wait a minute, Nico, did you get taller?”

“I —” was all Nico managed before Percy ruffled his hair, laughing melodiously.

“You’re growing like a weed, man.“

“ _Percy_ —” he practically whined, brushing his hand off.

“Don’t sweat it, man. You can still pull off the cute maid outfit.” Percy winked and immediately sped off in the other direction, knowing that staying any longer would be hazardous to his health and — okay, now Jason wasn’t imagining it. Nico’s face was _red_.

He wrapped Jason’s coat tighter around him, trying to hide his work clothes underneath the enchanted folds of brown.

“I didn’t know you were friends with Perseus.” Jason said dumbly.

Nico looked like he wanted to disappear.

“It’s complicated.”

“Do you….” this was definitely none of Jason’s concern, but at the same time he needed to know, “Do you… like him?”

If looks could kill, Jason would be drowning in hellfire. Nico’s fists hung at his side, itching to break his nose.

“Well, this was nice,” he said tightly, “But I think I’m going to head home.” He spun on his heel, but before he could stomp off, Jason grabbed his arm.

He turned back slowly, his voice as quiet as death and just as terrifying,

“Let go of me.” It took everything Jason had not to. This kid was downright _frightening_ when he wanted to be, but he decided to focus on the memory of Nico humming to himself as he scrubbed the floors, how angelic his harsh features were in the late afternoon light. He tightened his grip, and immediately regretted it when Nico let out a gasp of pain.

“Sorry — sorry, but please just stay. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Nico squirmed his way out of Jason’s grip, but didn’t immediately bolt, which he took as a good sign.

“Fine. But only because I honor my promises.”

The rest of the wait was spent discussing carefully chosen topics. Nico’s defenses were as high as the first day they met, and Jason didn’t want to do anything to make him rethink staying. When they had sat down at a table with their food, Nico finally decided to broach the subject.

“Why are you still being nice to me?”

“What are you talking about?” Jason lowered the bread he was about to take a bite out of. Nico’s hands and gaze rested in his lap. He chanced a couple quick glances his way, but didn’t meet his eyes for too long.

“You know… because I’m not — not _normal_.” Getting the words out seemed too strenuous for him, and his shoulders alternated from pointing toward the sky and rounding toward the earth.

“Seriously? You think I’d treat you any differently?”

Nico’s silence was telling.

“Look,” he sighed, “I don’t care about that. No one should care about that. Besides, I’m not too… _normal_ myself.” He broke off a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth. Nico looked up at him, alarmed, like he’d just been told the earth revolved around the sun.

“Y-You? But you’re — I mean, you’re so… you can’t, I- I thought,” he gesticulated wildly, unable to find a way of getting his point across. Eventually he gave up, “…Really?”

“Mhmm,” he hummed around another piece of bread, “It’s not that big of a deal. And I get it, man, Perseus _is_ a catch.”

Nico covered his face in his hands.

“You can’t just say things like that.”

“Whoa, I’m not encroaching on your territory or anything. Dude’s not my type anyway.”

“No, I mean…” he stammered, still hiding beneath his narrow palms, “I mean you can’t just say that you’re — you’re… like _me_. Look at you, y-you’re so — so _comfortable_ about it. H-how? How can you just be —“

“Nico.” He said, his voice so full of power it made the younger boy jump, his hands lowering from his face, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jason placed a hand lightly over Nico’s, just for reassurance, but the son of Hades recoiled almost immediately.

“Maybe for you it’s not. Maybe — maybe where you come from, it’s perfectly fine. But I live _here_ and I’m not _you_ , so I can’t afford to say things like that, t-to feel things like… like _this._ People barely stand me as it is; no one — _no one_ — would even come near me if they knew the truth.”

“I did.”

“Not everyone can be _you_ , Jason,” the fire in his eyes dimmed, “Least of all me.”

“Don’t say that like — like I’m some idol people aspire to be. I’m a decent human being, that’s all. Look around and you’ll find that a lot of human beings are pretty decent. But it’s not about them, Nico. It’s about you. You have to accept yourself.”

“How can I?” he spat, “I’m a disease.”

“ _No_ , you’re not.” If Jason wasn’t so mindful of Nico’s personal space issues, he would’ve shook him pretty badly. As it was, he resigned himself to taking both of Nico’s hands in his.

“You’re the strongest person I know, Nico. You’ve got skin made of steel and fire in your eyes and it doesn’t matter how many times the world is pulled from under you, it doesn’t matter how many times you’re pushed down because you always pick yourself up again. Not everyone can be that strong. Not everyone can be _you_.”

Nico stared at him for a long moment, expression contorting wildly, from disbelief to denial to a tiny, flickering glimmer of hope.

“You don’t have to kiss up to me just because my dad has money.” He said eventually, settling his emotions underneath a wry smile.

“Is it that obvious?”

“You’ve been eying my wallet all evening. I mean, I get it, kind of hard to miss it when it’s _overflowing_ with cash.”

“You _are_ the pinnacle of wealth.” Jason agreed.

“I’m a Hermes’s kid magnet.” He laughed.

“You’re practically made of gold.”

That last part wasn’t a joke, at least not to Jason, but Nico went on facetiously bragging about how his tears were diamond dust — and Jason was contented to let him go on.

 

Jason visited Nico more frequently after that. It became sort of routine, Jason would help with what he could — which was the heavy-lifting and the firewood-chopping because he could do little else without making a mess of things — and then he would keep Nico company while he finished his chores. After all of that was done, Jason would invite Nico out to one of the festivals — or after the festivals were over, the destination alternated — the theatre, the woods, stargazing, sometimes he even offered to sneak them into one of the parties at the palace. Most of the time Nico would refuse, having to “catch up on sleep” was his favorite pretext (Jason knew it was bullshit because the bags under his eyes were as purple as ever), but sometimes he would accept. And each time he walked Nico home, it got harder and harder not to kiss him goodbye.

The moonlight always shone against his pale skin, the bottomless depths of his eyes sparkled with something ancient, and his cheeks were red from the early spring chill. His lips were chapped and drained of color, but Jason didn’t really care. He’d give anything to kiss them.

But the owner of said kissable lips wasn’t home when Jason stopped by that evening. He decided to try the market, but it was nearly impossible to find a skeleton of a boy in the midst of all that chaos. It made him think how it was an astronomical impossibility they managed to bump into each other the first time.

Not for the first time since meeting Nico, Jason wondered if there was such a thing as fate.

Eventually, he gave up. The way back was chilly, even with his naturally high body temperature, and the moon seemed eerie without the son of Hades to capture its pale light. Like a spotlight on an empty stage, he mused.

Nico was probably fine. He had other friends, surely. He had… _Perseus._ The son Poseidon did say that Nico was always welcome with him. They could be catching up on old times while Jason went on a wild goose chase and —

He wasn’t alone in the woods.

He slowly pulled an Imperial gold coin out of his pocket and flipped it. The hilt of a sword landed in his hand. There was another sound, leaves crunching underfoot, and — was that a groan?

He ventured deeper off the path, cutting down foliage in his wake, a flash of gold lashing out in front of him like a metallic whirlwind.

He never thought to look down, not until he tripped. As he hit the grown, he heard a cry that wasn’t his. He got up quickly and was mid-way through dispelling the dust on his white coat when he noticed what he’d tripped over. _Who_ he tripped over.

Nico di Angelo was curled up on his side, blood-soaked and shivering. Bruises as black as midnight riddled his exposed skin, accentuated his dark eyes, and his kissable chapped lips were split. Jason felt his heart sink to the floor. Or maybe that was his knees. It was hard to tell.

“Nico?”

The bloodied boy had the audacity to smile.

“Hey.” His voice was gravelly and wavering. Jason noticed that there was a trail of blood leading from Nico to the unknown of the forest. It was hard to see in the moonlight how far back it went. And as he spoke, the boy was still moving forward on his elbows and his free hand. The non-free hand gripped the withered remains of a basket handle.

“Remember how I said I—” he coughed a bit and spattered blood on the floor, “— said I got mugged a lot?”

Jason’s eyes shrunk to pin points. Nico’s was practically swimming in blood, but his eyes were dry. Not even a little bit puffy. No sign of redness. Just a wavering, cocky smile, as if to say _you should see the other guy_. Jason didn’t want to see the _other_ _guy_ , because he liked his current status as a non-murderer and would like to keep it.

Nico was crawling his way home. He could have internal bleeding and he was going to crawl _miles_ in the cold. To a stepmother that wouldn’t even bother to send him to a healer.

And then Jason went cold at the thought that this was not the first time.

_Yeah, being robbed is a pretty regular occurrence for me._

Oh god.

“Shh,” he murmured, and it came out harsher than he intended but he was too _royally pissed_ to filter it, “Don’t talk. And, uh, don’t sleep because you might slip into a coma.”

“Good to know.” He said, wincing as he moved his shoulder forward.

“And stop crawling. You’re hurt.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” And he crawled anyway because even without a leg to stand on he was still a little shit.

“I _mean it_.”

“You growling at me again, Jason?”

“Look, I know you have a personal space bubble the size of a small kingdom, but I’m going to have to get you to a healer and to do that I have to carry—”

Nico paled and for the first time since discovering him, Jason saw fear in his eyes.

“N-no —”

His tone was small and pleading, which made Jason feel like the world’s biggest asshole when he scooped him up in his arms, bridal style, much to the younger boy’s distress.

“Let me go, Jason,” his voice rose with panic, “It’s only a couple more miles.”

“And how many have you already crawled?” The words were steeped in anger, some of Jason’s royal pissery surfacing.

In retrospect, he probably should’ve known Nico would think he was mad at _him_.

“It’s not my fault!” he shouted, eyebrows furrowed.

“I never said it was!”

Nico bit his lip, looking anywhere but at Jason.

“You didn’t have to.” He said sourly, “I get it, okay? You’re the hero type. Can’t leave a soldier behind no matter how much they weigh you down.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re a good Samaritan, Jason, you can’t ignore someone in need, even when you want to.”

“T-That’s ridiculous, Nico. I came here looking for you.”

Nico coughed and little flecks of crimson marred his thin fist.

“Wh — what? You did?” The words were slow and his voice was thick with disbelief. Jason remembers a starving child he met on the streets once, remembers how he had given them a loaf of bread, and they had looked up at him, wide eyes elated but anticipating rejection, and breathlessly asked ‘ _All of it?’_

Nico had the same look on his face then.

“Of course. I’ve been looking all day.”

“…Really?”

Nico di Angelo was almost identical to the kid on the streets, clutching a loaf of bread, unable to fathom that it was his now, still expecting someone to take it away from him.

“I care about you, Nico. We’re _friends_ , after all.”

This was news to the boy in his arms, apparently.

“Oh.”

He smiled. And it wasn’t sarcastic, or resigned, or a Hazel’s-looking-better-make-it-seem-real smile. Beam was a better word, actually. He beamed. Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, _beamed_ like Jason had never seen anyone beam before, not even the starving kid on the street when they realized they could keep the bread. He was radiant, like all the moonlight was pointed directly at him, a musician with the stage beneath his feet and the spotlight just above. He looked like an entirely different person. And Jason was so desperate to kiss him.

He snapped out of it when Nico’s eyes began to droop and his breathing started to slow.

“Hey,” he barked, readjusting his grip around the son of Hades’ knees, “You can’t fall asleep.”

“’M sorry,” he slurred, digging the heel of his palm into his eye, “Can’t remember the last time I ever _wanted_ to sleep.”

“You’ve ditched me to catch up on your sleep plenty of times.”

“I _tried_ plenty of times. Never worked.”

“Why not?” Jason ventured.

“Nightmares. Gets hard to fall asleep when you know what’s waiting.” Nico closed his eyes, and Jason jostled him again. 

It wasn’t too much further; maybe a quarter mile, and he just had to keep Nico talking for a little bit longer.

“What do you dream about?”

If Nico were at 100%, he would’ve stopped the conversation there and Jason wasn’t sure whether to be worried or relieved that he didn’t.

“Bianca. Sometimes Percy.”

“What’s so bad about them?”

“It always starts out with Bianca, the reoccurring one I…” he tried to drift off again, but Jason bumped him, “Bianca’s in the house and I’m scrubbing the floors… a-and she _knows_. ‘Bout me. I can never remember what she’s yelling at first, but… oh, the yelling… t-he yelling…” Jason squeezes his kneecap, “’Ight, right, right. There are some words I can make out. I can always make them out. You’re not my brother, you _fag_. She kicks over my bucket, and the water goes everywhere, but it doesn’t stop. The water keeps coming and coming and I go under. I can see her from below the surface. She’s walking on the water. I try to reach for her but she acts like I’m poisonous and I run out of air. I wake up after that, but there’s ano-ano… ther one that I always have.”

“What happens in that one?” Jason almost didn’t want to know.

“I’m at dinner with Bianca and Percy. Everything’s nice, there are lights and music. But I have to ruin it. I ask if they’re really happy with me. And then their faces change. They’re angry. ‘We pretend for you,’ she says, ‘we pretend, isn’t that enough?’ And I don’t know what to say so she keeps going on, yelling, ‘we smile and we’re nice but the truth is the sight of you makes me want to gouge my own eyes out’ and then Percy says ‘we can be free’ and then he stabs me. It’s probably bad, but that’s my favorite dream. It starts out a little happy. Sometimes I can pretend for longer.” Nico’s sad smile is back and he manages to keep his eyes open for a while.

Jason was… at a loss. He’d had his share of nightmares, but nothing that… extreme. Nothing that really picked away at who he was. And how much of these nightmares stayed with him… he didn’t even want to think about.

He didn’t want to ask, but he had to keep the boy awake.

“Are there any others?”

“Yeah. There’s this recent one, ever since Percy proved himself as a warrior and got assigned a quest. I used to visit him in the training barracks, and we’d spar. It starts out a little like that except we’re not in the barracks. We’re somewhere dark. And he’s not holding back. He keeps talking about how he’s come for the head of the beast as we spar. He starts to get more aggressive, more lethal, and every nick hurts, hurts so… _bad_. And I realize that I’m the beast he’s come to slay. I try to tell him that ‘it’s me, _Nico_.’ He says ‘ _I know’_ and cuts my head off.”

Jason can see the healer’s house now, the lights still on this late, thank god, but… _damn_. If Nico could remember all of his nightmares this clearly… well, how was he not crippled by all of it? How was he able to drag himself for miles after he was already bloodied and bruised? How was the boy in his arms even _real_?

He carried him inside the healer’s house and — okay, that wasn’t thehealer. 

Apollo, of all people, sat in her desk, legs crossed and hands tucked behind his head. He smiled when Jason came in.

“’Been expecting you two for a while,” he says, trying to take Nico from him, but Jason wouldn’t let him, “Jeez, jeez, fine. _You_ put him on the cot.” He gestured to the one in the corner and started going through the cabinet of potions.

“Are you sure it’s okay for him to fall asleep?” he asked, laying Nico down on the white bedding.

“Of course. He’s safe now from the cold.”

“What are you doing here? Why were you expecting us?”

Apollo smiled at that and made a show of clearing his throat.

“Sometimes your elders

Know more than you think they do

And sometimes they don’t.”

“…What does that even _mean_?”

“I don’t know, but it sure sounded cool.”

He mixed together elixirs absentmindedly, throwing in a dash of grass clippings from his pocket when he found the mixture to his liking.

“Uh… What are you doing?”

“Helping.” He dug a teaspoon out of a drawer and mixed the liquid.

“Why? I mean I know you’re a doctor and everything and I’m not questioning your… expertise, but why are you here?”

“Just because.” He shrugged, “Why didn’t you go to the castle’s infirmary, where I’d normally be?”

“I…”

“And why do you have an injured son of Hades with you?”

“I asked first.” He barked, fists clenched.

“Ooh, touchy.

Your cold shoulder hurts

But not as much as your love

For this sweet dark prince.”

Jason paled.

“W-what makes you say that?” he asked, tapping his foot frantically.

Apollo raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“So jumpy, son of Zeus

Call it a premonition

I do have a lot.”

“… Have a lot of what?”

“Premonitions! It takes away from the awesomeness when I have to explain my haikus, you know.”

“Sorry. But, uh…” he scratched the back of his neck, “Does anyone else know?”

“That you’ve got it bad for the indentured bastard of Hades?”

“I could have your head for talking like that.” If Jason hadn’t needed his help, Apollo would’ve been on the floor, esteemed doctor or not.

“Easy there, tiger. Your secret’s safe with me.”  
“B-but… Nico doesn’t know I’m royalty or anything, so you can’t tell him.”

“Why not?”

Jason sat on Nico’s cot, mindful of his injuries. He slept peacefully — well, peacefully was an exaggeration, but it was probably the closest the younger boy would ever get.

“I’ve been by his side for months and he’s just now _considering_ the idea that I _might_ care about him. When I came to help him, he told me to put him back down and let him crawl a mile back to his house so he wouldn’t be a burden to me. He thinks I do all this because I’m some sort of hero, and if he knew about me it would ruin everything I’m trying to build.”

“Trying to build a relationship without honesty is going to be hard, Jason. He’s a smart boy. He’ll put it together eventually.”

Apollo knelt next to Nico, holding a teaspoon of his latest concoction up to the boy’s mouth.

“Shh,” Apollo murmured, radiating tranquility as he dipped the spoon past Nico’s parted lips. Nico began coughing, which turned into him saying _Bianca_ over and over again, clutching at Apollo’s wrist. The older man just smiled and smoothed out his hair, “It’s okay. You’re okay.” Nico stopped his mantra and settled back down into a quasi-peaceful sleep. Jason was very aware of the fact Apollo didn’t retract his hand from Nico’s head

“You’ve got a good eye, Grace.”

Jason snorted.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to try to take him away from me.”

“I would never!” he puffed dramatically, “Besides, he’s more like a brother to me.”

“You two know each other?”

Apollo shook his head, smiling.

“It’s a one-sided deal. I know his sister, Bianca. She always asks about him, made me promise to look after him. He’s not exactly the keenest on accepting help, but I do what I can.”

“You’ve done this before.” Jason deduced, “Whenever he gets attacked, you heal him. I… I always wondered how he survived this kind of thing so many times, but… how did you know I’d bring him?”

“Hazel told me you went looking. I knew you’d find him and bring him to me.”

“You put a lot of faith in my abilities.”

“Or maybe it’s fate

That I invest my faith in

And not jock princes.”

“You think this is fate?”

“Let’s just say… I have a premonition.” He looked down at Nico and smiled faintly, “A really good premonition.”

Jason woke up to Nico’s stepsister dragging him off the cot. His back ached from falling asleep there, and he screamed when he hit the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I-I fell asleep, I guess… sorry.”

When her golden eyes shifted from him to Nico, her entire demeanor changed.

“What happened?” Her voice is soft as she wedges herself onto the cot.

“He was mugged.”

She caressed his cheeks with her thumb, and the sleeping boy had her full attention for a finite eternity. Jason thought she might’ve forgotten he was in the room, but then she spoke.

“I know I’m not Bianca. But I’m all that he has left. “

She gathered his hands in hers and pressed a kiss to his bony fingers.

Jason ventured to put a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into the touch, letting out a shuddering breath.

“It’s okay. He’s gotten through worse and been fine,” she chuckled sadly, “Like when he came back from helping Percy on his quest. He showed up covered in blood and bruises, and he had set his own broken leg with — with twigs! And I thought he was as good as dead, but he’s stronger than he looks. This is nothing for him, I really shouldn’t worry, but…”

“It’s hard not to.” He finished, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Wait? He helped Percy on his quest?”

Hazel looked alarmed.  
“Uh, no. No, well, I mean… _yeah_ , but you can’t tell anyone.”

“He helped Percy on his quest,” he repeated dumbly, “How?”

“It’s probably best if you don’t know the details.” Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked back to Nico.

“I promise — I-I _swear_ I won’t tell another living soul.”

Hazel regarded him warily.

“I know you’re only looking out for him, but what good would knowing do you now?”

“I’m not sure,” Jason admitted, “But I just want to know what’s going on with him. He doesn’t let many people in.”

“I know. God, do I know. But he let me in and I can’t betray him so easily.”

Jason sighed.

“Okay, fine, I’ll let it go.”

“…So what’d Apollo say? How long will he sleep for?”

“A couple more hours, I think. His bruises have already faded, and Apollo stitched him up pretty well. The man’s kind of a god at that.”

“Yeah. I’m glad he’s willing to do all this for free. If he charged, Persephone would throw a fit.”

Jason’s face darkened.

“You know it’s not right the way she treats you guys.”

“Yeah, I know. I tried reaching out to Hades several times, but he never responded. Sometimes I think he doesn’t want to be found.”

“Oh, don’t say that. Who’d want to leave behind two great kids?” He nudged her, and she gave a little smile.

“We’re not all that great.”

“Come on. I’ve seen what you can do with a brush, and you’re practically a natural with magic. I’m sure Persephone’s run out of things to teach you. And I’ve never met anyone kinder than you and Nico. Any dad would be proud.”

“Oh, you’re just buttering me up so I’ll tell you about Percy’s quest.” She laughed, nudging him back.

“No, no, I swear! You’re going to be a famous sorceress one day and people aren’t going to believe me when I say I knew you. And Nico’s going to go on a quest of his own some day and the people are going to _beg_ him to be their king. Hades won’t know what hit him.”

“Yeah. Together we’d be unstoppable.”

“You could conquer the stars if you wanted to,” he agreed.

Hazel gave him a quick, sisterly peck on the cheek and smiled haughtily.

“Keep up the sweet talk and I might let you court my brother.”

_The floor is not black marble, for a change. It has an odd translucence, a rosy magnesium blush, a fragrance reminiscent of the sea. He can even make out little seashells in the rock. The more Nico scrubs, the shinier it becomes, until he can almost see himself in it. He doesn’t really appreciate the reminder though, so he changes spots every time he gets close. He realizes why the floor isn’t black when a pair of handmade shoes gets in his way. His eyes trail up the trespasser’s pant legs until — until he starts to rethink calling him a trespasser._

_It’s Percy. He’s in Percy’s house._ He’s _the trespasser._

_He scrambles back and throws his gaze downward at the absolutely seething look the older boy gives him._

_“I-I’m sorry!” he stammers, although he’s not sure what he’s supposed to be sorry for, just that he is._

_“I know. But acknowledging your apology is beneath me.” Percy spits on him and it feels like lava burning his skin._

_“Besides,” he smiles, “You’ll never be sorry enough. You can clean as many floors as you want, but you’ll never atone for being what you are. No matter what you do, no one will ever accept you.”_

_“T-that’s not true, Jason, he —”_

_“Has no reason to care about you. You’re just a charity case. You’re lucky to be even that.”_

_“But — But he… he said that we were friends.”_

_“Look at me, Nico,” he grabbed him by the chin, Percy’s nails digging into his skin when he squirmed, “You’ll never have friends. Maybe once and a while, someone will come along and take an interest in you, but it’s all sick fascination and misplaced pity. Jason will never care about you.”_

_“But he said —”_

_Percy laughed cruelly._

_“You’ve always had big dreams, Nico, but this is farfetched, even for you. Look at Jason,” his voice dropped, “And look at you. He’s so far above you._ His _sister never abandoned him,_ his _father never regretted having him, he’s loyal and pure — all the things you could never be.”_

_“… I-I thought…”_

_“What? That you were equals? You’re more delusional than I thought,” he scoffed, “You can only look up. And we can only look down.”_

_Percy turned on his heel to leave, but Nico grabbed his pant leg._

_“B-But I love y—“_

_His eyes flared like a hurricane._

_And Nico’s chest erupted in white, hot pain as Percy’s foot connected with his ribs._

_“Don’t.”_

Kick.

_“Ever.”_

Kick. 

_“Say.”_

Kick

_“That.”_

Kick

_“To.”_

_“Me.”_

Nico woke with a start.

It took him a moment to steady his breathing, to let the sunset seep into him and dispel all the cobwebs.

Hazel had pulled up a chair next to him and fallen asleep, her head resting on his chest. Jason had done the same on his other side, except his head rested on Nico’s knees.

He ran a hand through Hazel’s hair, almost to reassure himself that she was real and the dream wasn’t. His other hand went instinctively to his ribs. It couldn’t have been real, in the rational part of his brain, he knew Percy would never say or do any of that. He would never kick anyone while they were down. But that rational part was a little overwhelmed with fear at the moment so all he could do was stare in horror at the ceiling, and feel Hazel’s curls underneath his hand. Eventually, it was gone from his mind, and he moved to get out of bed as quickly as possible, but the weight on his chest increased.

“Don’t even think about getting up.” Hazel said, still not opening her eyes. Nico almost had a heart attack.

“Y-You’re awake?”

“Never slept. You don’t have enough fat to be a good pillow.” She sat up and examined him.

“Another nightmare?”

“Every time I close my eyes.”

She frowned.

“Apollo can give you something for the nightmares, you know. I can ask him.”

Nico sat up too, careful not to rouse Jason, and met her eyes.

“He’s already gone through enough trouble for me. You all have.”

“Nico,” she held his spindly hand in her own, “I know that you’ve been going through a lot lately, and a lot not-so-lately too, but me, Jason, Apollo — we want to help. You’ve got to let us take care of you.”

“I —“ he sighed dejectedly, raising a hand to gesture vaguely, “I can’t, Hazel. I don’t know how. It’s just — I was so dependent on Bianca, before. I can’t take that risk again.”

“Nico… We’re not going to leave you,” she kissed his hand, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” he smiled sadly,  “But I should be able to count on my myself more.”

Wrong thing to say.

“What on earth are you talking about?” Hazel’s eyes flared, her tone rising from whispering to whisper-shouting, “Nico, you do so much on your own. You’re always counting on yourself, don’t you think you could let other people carry some of the weight for you?”

“… I don’t want to be glass, Hazel,” something like fear crept in his voice, “I don’t want to be handled like I am. I want to be someone you can turn to when things go wrong, not the other way around.”

“Trust goes both ways, Nico. You can’t expect to get any without giving any.”

He winced.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he amended, “I don’t trust myself. I don’t trust that I won’t drive everyone away if I’m honest.”

“Well, if you really trust me, then when I say I love you, you trust that, right? And if you trust that I love you, why would I leave you?”

“Because,” his expression was pained, “You don’t know everything, Hazel. If you knew you would never — you wouldn’t —“

“I wouldn’t love you anymore? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re my only family, Nico, my only friend. I don’t have anyone outside of you.”

“When you’re old enough to leave, you will. You will, and I’ll still be there — still scrubbing floors and —”

Her grip tightened. A lesser man would’ve screamed under the pressure, but all Nico did was flinch.

“I would never let that happen.”

“You say that now.”

Hazel fumed at that, her lips pursed and eyes flashing.

“If you’re so sure that I’m going to disown you because of whatever you’re hiding, why don’t you just get it over with? Why don’t you just rip it off like a bandage? Because I’m tired of hearing you talk like this!”

“It’s the truth! I’m not ready to lose you, Hazel, I’m not ready —”

“To trust me?”

“To be alone.” He corrected weakly.

“You’re not alone, Nico, I’m sorry about whatever happened to you before we came along, but you have to understand that we’re not going to let it happen again.”

“It doesn’t matter whether or not you _let_ it, it’s going to happen anyway, over and over again, because things _never_ go right for me.”

“Maybe it’s because you won’t let anyone try with you! Maybe it’s because you’re so dead set on _hiding!_ ”

It was a miracle that Jason managed to stay asleep, because Hazel pretty much scared off every bird in a ten-mile radius.

Nico glowered as the word ‘ _hiding’_ bounced off the infirmary walls. A lesser woman would’ve broken under the pressure of that glare, but all Hazel did was straighten herself. 

“Fine. You want to know so badly? You really think you’re going to stick around?” he voice was losing its bite and gaining fear with every passing word, “Fine. I’m… I’m _gay_ , Hazel.”

He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t see her reaction.

He’d blown it. He let his anger get the best of him. She was going to hate him, the only family he had left, and she was going to _hate_ him. He’s going to be left alone in that house with Persephone and —

He felt her press a kiss to his cheek, interrupting his inner monologue. His eyes shot open.

“Wh— wh—“ he stuttered unintelligently, dumbfounded by the shit-eating grin she was giving him, “What?”

“It’s okay, Nico. I don’t care. Jeez, the way you were going on I thought maybe you killed someone.”

“B-But — I… I…you don’t?”

She kissed his cheek again.

“Of course I don’t! In fact, I’m a little happy.”

“Why?”

“Well, mostly because it means you trust me, but also because it means we can talk about boys together.” Hazel giggled, and Nico’s face went beet red. Eventually, he was laughing too, though, and it felt like sunshine in his bruised lungs.

He didn’t lose Hazel. She loved him.

He liked the thought.

When Jason woke up, Hazel was stirring a cup of hot chocolate, her legs spread across Nico’s so that her feet came to rest a few inches from his face.

“Hey there,” she smiled, and Jason felt relieved that he was on her good side now, “Your back killing you?”

“Yes.” He groaned into the sheets.

“Well, it’s good that you’re up. I was starting to think that _you_ were the coma patient.” She nudged him with her foot playfully and he sat up.

“Any change in his condition?”

“…He woke up a few hours ago,” Hazel said, addressed the chocolaty depths of her cup, “He’s in stable condition.”

“And you didn’t think to wake me?”

She gave an omniscient smile.  
“Nico and I had things to discuss.”

“Like…?”

“Like sibling gossip that’s none of your business!” she reprimanded, “Your name may have come up a few times, though.”

“Hazel.”

“Jason.” She set the cup down on the bedside table, “Apollo said something interesting when he came to give Nico another dose of medicine. Your last name wouldn’t happen to be Grace, would it? As in Jason Grace, son of Zeus, _Prince of Olympus_?”

“I —“ her golden eyes flickered between amusement and caution as his skin paled, “Please don’t tell Nico.”

“I won’t. It’d hurt him to hear it from me. You have to be the one to tell him.”

“ _Hazel,_ I can’t. I’ve had to fight for him to see me as a _friend_ , if he knew — it would devastate him.”

“Are you doing this to protect him, or yourself?”

“Both.” He admitted, not letting himself be intimidated by her accusatory tone, “I want… I _do_ want to be with him, but if he were to find out… I can’t be another unattainable hero — I can’t be another Percy, for both our sake’s.”

“I get where you’re coming from; Nico’s self-esteem probably wouldn’t let him accept affection from a prince. He’d make up some excuse for you to be faking it, yeah, it’s a risk, but if you really do care for my brother, you have to put his needs first. He needs you to be honest with him. If he has to find out from someone else, _then_ he’ll be devastated.”

“I know. I wanted to tell him after our first meeting, but… He probably never would’ve gone anywhere with me.”

“Well, I think he’s on his way to trusting us a little more. He told me about his… secret.”

“How’d that go?”

“It was good for him. He expected me to freak out or something, but in the end… he smiled, a really genuine smile. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do that before.”

“That’s good. That’s really good.”

He faltered.

“When ‘my name came up,’ what did he say? Do you think… do you think he likes me, you know… like _that_?”

Hazel laughed at that, and Jason’s face felt hot.

“I’m sorry,” she said in between peals of laughter, “It’s just — you’re this warrior prince, right? And look at you — you’re _blushing_. Don’t worry, I — I think it’s sweet.”

“Well… does he?”

“He’s still a little unsure of his feelings, but I think he — well, it’s complicated. He doesn’t want a repeat of Percy.”

“He told you about Percy?”

“He ended up telling me everything, though believe you me, it wasn’t easy to get him to spill. He does like you, a little bit, but he’s trying to stay content being friends.”

She stared into her empty cup and sighed.

“I need a refill,” she announced, getting to her feet, “If he wakes up again while I’m gone, don’t break him.”

“He’s not glass, Hazel.”

She shot him an unreadable look.

“He’s not titanium, either.”

She closed the door softly behind her.

After an hour had passed, Jason was getting a little suspicious about Hazel’s hot chocolate run. Maybe it was a long line, he tried to rationalize, or she had gone out of her way for it.

His estimations were cut short when Nico began to stir.

Jason sat up straighter, taking in the way the younger boy’s eyelashes fluttered as he yawned.

“Good morning.”

“It’s eight o’clock at night, Jason.” He replied, not missing a beat. Jason almost had to do a double take. Hazel was right; Nico di Angelo was starting to _smile_.

“How do you know that?”

“Let’s just say I have a good internal clock.”

“Your internal clock is off by an hour.”

“Dang. Guess I’ll have to get it fixed.”

Jason laughed, scratching the side of his head.

“How’d you sleep?”

This seemed to take Nico by surprise.

“Really well, actually. I… I had a dream. A really good dream.” He said it absently, as if still lost in it.  
“What was it about?”

Nico sent him a sour look.

“… Ask me again when I’m half-conscious and dying.”

So he apparently remembered telling Jason about his nightmares.

“Hopefully it won’t take another near death experience for you to open up to me.”

Nico scrunched his nose.

“You shouldn’t push your luck, Jason.”

“Come on, just tell me.”

“If I tell you it won’t come true.”

“That’s wishes, not dreams.”

“A dream is a wish your heart makes.”

Nico blinked.

Then he closed his eyes and groaned.

“Why did I say that?”

“… Is that —“

“Don’t even start, Jason.”

But Jason must’ve had a death wish, because he started singing.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep…” He smiled at the hesitant laugh Nico gave.

“You’re a sap.”

“You say that as if you’re not.”

“I’m _not_. And you’re a _tone_ _deaf_ sap.”

“Then you sing.”

“No, I’m worse than you are.”

“What? You have the voice of an angel, man.”

“Hey, just because my last name’s di Angelo doesn’t mean I can sing like one.”

“Are you kidding me? If anything, that proves it.”

Nico frowned.

“I’m seriously really bad. Persephone told me to sing to her plants to make them grow faster, and they all wilted.”

“Well, plants have no taste in music. Besides, I’ve heard you sing before, Nico, you can’t fool me.”

“That was a mistake. You should at least take a year off from listening to me so your ears can recover.”

“Come on.”

He was going to try something risky.

“Do it for me?”

Nico looked it at him sharply before gritting out a small, “Fine.”

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I said _fine_.”

And he launched into the most beautiful rendition of A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes Jason had ever heard.

Nico’s voice was solemn, flawlessly executing sweeping crescendos and well-disciplined decrescendos, his projection fluctuating with practiced ease. The melody was usually sweet, but coming from his lips, it took on a more haunting quality, like Nico’s voice was a chorus of last words, echoing with the regrets of the deceased. It drew your attention, kept you nailed in place, sent a shiver up your spine. Nico’s eyes stayed closed the entire time, a grimace on his face, as if he wanted nothing more than to disappear.

Once it was over, he cracked one eyes open, taking in Jason’s look of shock.

“I was that bad, huh? You could’ve stopped m—“

Okay. In retrospect, it was probably the worst time to give in to the urge to kiss Nico di Angelo. Jason had disciplined himself — he said he’d be patient, but god, it had been _months_ , and he wasn’t nearly as strong as everyone thought. Jason Grace was _weak_ , especially where a certain son of Hades’ lips were concerned.

And they were such strong lips, strong where Jason was weak, even if they were a little rough around the edges and — and Jason didn’t get to learn any more than that because Nico was pushing him off him with so much force he almost fell over.

Nico looked like he couldn’t decide between being petrified and furious, but it didn’t take him long to reach a decision.

And when Nico di Angelo decided he was _furious_ at you, well, then— _run_.  
“Get out.” He barked.

Jason’s chest swelled with regret.

“Ni—”

“Get. _Out_.” He hissed, a bonfire roaring in his dark eyes. Jason could barely comprehend how much anger Nico could express in one look, and he ended up crumbling under it, bending to the younger boy’s will and slipping out of the healer’s cabin.

Jason slumped against the door dejectedly. He covered his face with his hands, and the jagged breaths burned his lungs. _God_. He knew that he had to be patient with Nico, that he couldn’t just let his impulses rule him. It was his fatal flaw, to give into every whim, to be so fickle and self-indulgent, but Nico had been _different_. He wasn’t some capricious desire; he was Jason’s _anchor_. He thought at first he was just being noble about helping Nico, but his reasons were entirely selfish. The truth was he needed Nico a lot more than Nico needed him. And what a better time to have this epiphany, than after blowing all his chances with the guy.

He didn’t realize he was crying until it was too late to stop.

He’s not sure how long he stayed there, just crying into his knees, until Hazel stopped in front of the cabin.

“What happened?” horror crossed her face, “Did he have a relapse?”

She didn’t wait for a reply. Before Jason could even open his mouth, she ran inside. And then stopped.

“Nico…” she whispered, “What’s wrong?”

There was a pause, a ruffling of fabric, and then Hazel closed the door behind her.

Jason stayed outside for a while, moving to the corner of the patio. He wasn’t sure what his next move was going to be from there. He didn’t want to go home — he didn’t want to go period — but Nico had made it _crystal_ clear that Jason wasn’t welcomed back inside. His legs were starting to cramp. His eyes stung. He’d give anything to disappear. This was probably how Nico felt, all those times he looked like nothing would make him happier than sinking into the floor. The option seemed tempting now.

A half an hour later — or at least, what felt like one, he ‘d last track of time — Nico came out. He was favoring his left side, but that was the only trouble he seemed to have with moving around now.

Jason froze as Nico walked over to him, and he watched the footsteps, not risking a glance to his face. Nico knelt down next to him and cupped his chin. His expression was filled with sympathy, which did and didn’t surprise Jason, because he was expecting anger, but knew that Nico was too good of a person to leave the end of their relationship at ‘get out.’

There was still hesitation in his eyes, but it softened when he reached out and wiped a tear from Jason’s face. The touch was so gentle, as light as dragonfly wings, and Jason internally mocked himself for wanting to kiss him again.

“Have you been crying?” he asks softly, not taking his hand off Jason’s face. He can’t look him in the eye.

“I’m sorry. I never considered that — well, I didn’t know… I thought you were making fun of me.”

That got Jason’s attention.

“I wasn’t. I’d never do something that cruel. I — I kissed you because I wanted to.”

Nico smiled.

“I know. I’m just… not good at this. I always thought that I’d stay here, with Persephone. Forever. I never thought — well, you just had the goofiest look on your face when I was singing, and you kept insisting that I was good, so I thought that you were joking. But. You weren’t... were you?”

“Nico…” he reached out to touch him, before thinking better of it and letting his hand drop.

He shook his head.

“In my mind, you were just like Percy. A hero. Unattainable and invincible. I never thought that I could hurt you. And I… I don’t like having that sort of power over someone... over _you_. I know — believe me — I _know_ what it’s like to be on the receiving end of it. I just — if I don’t want to hurt you, then I have to take a risk because I can’t protect myself and not hurt you at the same time. So if you’re serious about…” he licked his lips, “… _us_ , then I need to know that I don’t have to protect myself. I need to be able to trust that you’ll do it for me.”

Jason smiled.

“I swear.” He breathed, transfixed on the glimmer in those dark, dark eyes, “May I possibly kiss you?”

“… You may.”

The kiss didn’t last long, a quick shot of saccharine adrenaline, before Nico pulled back. He looked so hopeful, so wonderstruck, and Jason had to resist the urge to kiss him again, for longer. Because that wasn’t what Nico needed. He needed things to go slow, and if it meant keeping him, Jason was willing to do anything. He settled for a butterfly kiss and Nico’s medicine-and-coppery breath gusted into Jason’s face as he laughed.

“You know, I should make you prove it.”

“Mhmm…and how do I do that?”

“I don’t know. Slay a dragon for me or something.” Nico blew into Jason’s face and giggled, rolling on the balls of his feet to stand back up again. Jason followed suit, a huge grin splitting his face.

“I got it. How about you come to the ball this Friday at the castle, and I prove it to you?”

Nico rolled his eyes.  
“You can’t be _that_ good of a dancer.”

“No, no, not like that. Just trust me, okay?”

“Okay, Jason,” he sighed dramatically, “I’ll trust you.”

“Great! Be there at eight, okay? The back of the ballroom. And don’t be late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Alright, well…” he took Nico’s hand and kissed it, “Goodnight.”

Nico used Jason’s grip on him to pull the older boy closer and kissed his cheek.

“Goodnight.”

It had been hours, and Nico’s fingers were starting to cramp. They were already calloused and chaffed before he had begun (Jason hadn’t stopped by since he invited him to the ball, and reintroducing his skin to manual labor had left sores and cuts all over his hands). And now his muscles were failing him too. He couldn’t get the thread to go through the eye of the needle again. His hands were shaking too badly.

“Do you think Apollo might have something for this?” he asked Hazel, who sat on her bed, watching as he worked.

“I don’t know. He sort of disappeared again.”

“Forgot.” he smiled humorlessly, “He only shows up when I’m close to death.”

“He’s a busy guy. I know he’d be here to monitor your recovery if he could.”

Nico didn’t say anything to that, just went on with his stitching.

“I don’t know why I’m doing this.” He said after a while, setting down the needle and thread.

“I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb at that party. And even if this suit does turn out right, it’s not going to change anything.”

“Why would you stick out? I mean, besides your superior dancing, of course.”

“Hazel, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m not a people person. And this party’s a _social_ thing.”

“Jason’s not going to make you talk to anyone you’re not comfortable with.”

“It’s not just that I — I don’t fit in with royalty. This is — I’m not even sure Jason’s going to be able to sneak us in. I’m probably going to get us busted.”

“You’re not going to get caught.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Sister’s intuition.”

“Yeah? Well I speak from experience. I don’t fit in — and neither will Jason if someone sees us together.”

“Do you know who Ganymede is?”

“No.”

“He’s King Zeus’s lover. I’m sure he won’t kick you guys out for dancing together.”

“Yeah, but…” Nico bit his lip, “That’s _if_ the suit turns out perfectly. Which it’s not going to, because I suck at sewing.”

“Don’t you make your own clothes?”

“Out of recycled sacks!” he plucked at his collar for emphasis, “I have no idea how to work with this kind of fabric; it doesn’t do anything I want it to. And I’ve never made an entire suit before, much less one for a _royal_ ball.”

He hugged his knees and let his head drop.

“I’m going to ruin this.”

Hazel sat down on the floor in front of him, putting a hand on his knee. He looked up dejectedly.

“What?” he asked, slightly unnerved by the knowing smile Hazel was giving him.

She pushed down on his knees so that his legs straightened and rested her head in his lap.

“Hazel.” He said, looking down at her sadly.

She pushed a finger to his lips.

“Shh! No negative talk. Tonight is going to be fine. Close your eyes.”

“ _Hazel_ —”

“Mmm! Close them!”

He shut his eyes resignedly.

“Now just this once — I want you to believe that everything’s going to work out.”

“But —”

“No buts! Just five little words. And you don’t get to open your eyes until you say them.”

“I don’t get the point of this.”

“Please, just go along with it.” Her tone was nearly pleading. He sighed.

“Everything’s going to work out.” He bit out, letting his shoulders relax. Maybe it did make him feel a little better, despite his lack of belief.

“Now open your eyes.”

He looked back down at Hazel, and in her hands was a bundle of fabric. It was a deep, earthy green with a gold translucence that shimmered when it caught the light. Nico slowly reached out to touch it, narrow fingers running over the smooth material. He picked up the jacket, and glided his hand across the front, taking in the expert stitching and overall craftsmanship. It had gold buttons and embroidery on the shoulders. There was padding there too, which Nico was grateful for. It was cut off like a waistcoat, but had long sleeves, and the inside of it was so warm and _god_ it was perfect.

“Hazel,” he said breathlessly, “I — Won’t this get you in trouble? If Persephone found out —“

“For once, Nico. Please,” she sounded exasperated, but her eyes swelled with affection, “Just believe in something good.”

Believing in something good turned out to be a bad idea. It somehow hurts more in the long run, to have hope and lose it.

He had tried on the suit per Hazel’s request, and was surprised by what stared back at him from the mirror. The earthy tones made him look a bit healthier, a trick of the light that made his skin regain its olive color, if only for a moment. His eyes didn’t look completely black, the color brought out a slight brown spark in his irises, as if to distract from the deep shadows just below. The padding helped him look less starved and more regal, like he was bred for diplomacy. If he didn’t curl into himself so much, if his back had been a tad straighter, and his hands not drawn to the pockets, he might have looked like royalty.

“Maybe,” he had said when Hazel suggested it, “If you squinted. And closed your eyes.”

He suspected she charmed it the same way as Jason’s jacket, to adjust to a person’s thermal needs. It felt warm all over, and Nico needed that. A lot.

Which was why it was so heartbreaking to watch Persephone rip it apart. His symbol of hope, of taking a risk and trusting that there was something better out there, tearing beneath her manicured claws. The buttons popped off, the stitching came undone, and he watched it all with sad, knowing eyes. He didn’t try to plead with her. He didn’t tell her to stop; he knew she wouldn’t. He disobeyed a direct order, and who was he to think he could attend a royal ball? What kind of child steals from his own mother?

_What kind of mother works her child to death?_

He didn’t say it, buried it deep down underneath everything else, and uncoiled his mind from the idea of hope. Because things _never_ worked out for him, and he’d spread that misfortune onto Jason and eventually he would realize his mistake and Nico would be alone again.

When she was done with her tantrum, Persephone smoothed her hair back and glowered at Nico, like she was deciding whether or not turn him into a dandelion for another week. He wished she would make it a year because Nico would rather be a flower for all of eternity than spend another minute as such a miserable, hopeless boy. At least as a plant he might actually do some good.

Persephone must’ve been able to read his mind, because she spun on her heel and walked away, denying him the luxury of escape.

It was the night of the ball, and he was going to spend it sitting by the shredded remains of his suit, inches from the front door. He was going to spend it in rags, his calloused hands going numb against the cold marble as he looked down at the ruins. He knew he wasn’t going to cry — he hadn’t since Bianca left — but in that moment, he wished he could, just to be able to let it go, to let the grief and anger and shame pour off him and never come back, but he kept it festering underneath his skin, like he did everything else.

What was Jason doing now, he wondered. Was he waiting in the back for a servant boy who would never show? Had he already given up waiting, was he dancing with someone else? Had he realized that Nico was a mistake yet, or would the revelation take time? Worst of all — would Jason think he stood him up? Would he come back here to find Nico on the floor, still in his recycled rags and apron heirloom?

Jason did care about him, he knew that, he knew that he was hurting him right now, and he knew that he had promised not to. It would be the first promise he’d ever broken, and it would be to the first person who’d ever returned his affections. All because he was too weak to stand up to his stepmother, too hopeless to be anything but complacent in his own abuse. He could’ve stood up to her any time he wanted to in the past five years. But he couldn’t see anything after that, any home he could run to with Bianca gone. Bianca and him had always run. All their lives, they’d been running toward something better, and each place had felt more like a home than the last. Maybe Bianca had been able to find a home without him, and that was fine, he wouldn’t begrudge her for that, or for anything really, but this was the last place that they’d had a home together. He didn’t have the motivation to shed this awful home without her. Jason and Hazel had begun to rekindle it, that burning hunger for something better, but he didn’t deserve better, not really, it was a lesson the universe had been trying to drill into his thick skull for a while now. He got it. He wasn’t a hero, despite all his pretenses, but he still chased after a hero’s ending, and the cosmic forces at work in his life had knocked him back down a peg each time he reached for what wasn’t his — for what would never be his.

So he sat on the floor, gaze cast downward, and thought about maybe asking Hazel if she would turn him into a dandelion in Persephone’s stead. She wouldn’t react well to the request, he knew, but being something else seemed to be a better alternative right now.

He hadn’t noticed the front door had opened until an evening chill crept past his skin. Shivering, he half-expected to see Jason standing in the threshold, but there was no one there. He stood up slowly, wishing he had his sword with him as he tentatively stepped outside. There was a figure cloaked in silver standing beneath one of the oak trees in the front yard.

His suspicion gave weigh to curiosity as his footsteps became quicker and steadier. The intruder swathed in silver threw the hood off their face, revealing long, black hair wrapped in a uniform braid.  Nico got a glimpse of their face and nearly cried — he didn’t because that wasn’t something he’s done for five years now and he supposed he had lost the ability — but he came very close.

“B-Bianca?”

She smiled warmly. She hadn’t changed too much from Nico’s memory; she had olive skin, the same that he used to have, and soft brown eyes that emanated strength. She had filled out a bit more, he could tell that even with the silver cloak, and she had grown a lot taller. There was a dash of freckles splattered across her cheeks, looking very much like badges of honor — the kind Nico couldn’t earn even if he spent his entire life working for them.

“It’s good to see you again, Nico.”

“B-Bianca.” He stammered again. He’d thought about this encounter every day she’d been gone, about what he’d say to her (“I’m so sorry for burdening you all those years,” “I understand why you left, it’s okay that you did and it’s okay if you have to leave again,” “I love you”) and what she’d say back (these fluctuated depending on his mood from, “You were never a burden to me, you’re my brother and I love you” to “My only regret is not ditching you sooner, you’re disgusting human _filth_ ”) but he just stared. There was no way Bianca would come back, not after all this time, it was clear she was gone and wanted to stay gone. Maybe if she had come a few hours earlier, he would’ve bought it, but he was done with hope at this point.

“Y-you’re not real. The real Bianca wouldn’t come back for me. She found a better home — she’s happy. So, what do you want from me?”

“N-Nico wh—” she looked slightly horrified, and Nico took a step back as she took one forward.

“Stay back,” he barked, “If you’re here for Zeus’s lightning bolt, Percy already returned it. And I — I can’t fight you while you’re wearing her face.”

“Fight me? Nico, it’s really me. I’m not here to fight you,” she took a bow and arrow out from under her cloak and tossed them onto the ground, “See?” 

She must’ve seen the hesitation in his eyes, because she lowered her voice, and clasped her hands together the way Bianca always used to do when she prayed.

“I am Bianca.”

“No. No, you can’t be. I just haven’t figured out your angle yet.” He was panicking. He couldn’t take her in a fight, not without a sword, not while she looked so much like Bianca. And he couldn’t figure out what she wanted. Money? Information? Nico didn’t have any of that.

Her gaze was sympathetic, the horrified curve of her mouth hidden behind a powdery layer of pity.

“How did you get like this?” she asked, coming a bit closer. Nico didn’t step back this time, “What happened while I was gone?”

Nico averted his gaze, and tensed as her hands came to cup the sides of his face, but he didn’t shake her off.

“Nico, look at me.” She pleaded.

His eyes snapped to her, calculating and hesitant. He wanted this to be true. But if he let himself believe it was, the illusion would fall apart, ripping and tearing like the golden stitching had.

“Bianca left me.” He spat, “She’s _gone_. I don’t know what you want, or why’re you’re doing this, but don’t do it with her face. Don’t sully her memory. She was a good person, the best, better than you or I can ever hope to be and she deserves the new home she has. She wouldn’t leave it — she _didn’t_ , not for five years, and I’ve never been worth it before, so you showing up here, claiming to be her — you’re insulting my intelligence. I _know_ that I was only ever a burden to Bia—”

“Stop it!” she ordered, the terror slipping into her otherwise unwavering voice. Nico shut up.

“When you were seven, I took you to see a parade. You got lost and I spent the entire day looking for you. You had accidentally gotten onto one of the floats, and I finally found you at the end of the parade, chatting up one of the performers. I cried when I found you and you stroked my back, and you know what you said?”

“S-stop! You’re not Bianca, you can’t —”

“We’ll always find each other. That’s what you said. And when I was ten, I was determined to learn how to cook so we wouldn’t have to always steal. I burned my first few meals, but you always ate them, ashes and all, and you smiled at me. You said thank you.”  
Nico fell onto his knees, tangling his fingers in his hair, not wanting to look at the person who might be his sister.

“You can’t —” he muttered weakly.

She put a hand over his.

“We’ll always find each other.”

He looked up with glassy eyes.

“Why did you leave me?” he asked finally, his voice eroded away into pleading. He didn’t want to hear the answer, and this was a terrible time to make that realization, as her mouth opened and he wasn’t going to have to wonder anymore, he couldn’t pretend that she would’ve accepted him anymore if she didn’t. He couldn’t pretend that she would’ve supported him. He couldn’t pretend anymore. And that was one of the few luxuries he had left.

“ _Mio soldatino_ , I never abandoned you.”

“Then wh— why did you leave me here alone?”

“I took an oath. I couldn’t visit for a while, but I always made sure there was someone looking after you.”

He grasped her hands shakily, expecting them to disappear.  

“I missed you every night you were gone, every night for five years and I had no idea if you hated me or —”

“Why would I hate you?”

Nico winced.

He didn’t want to do this, not now that he’s just gotten her back.

“Because I — well because I’m — I’m not _normal_.”

She was silent for a world-shattering moment, before laughing and holding his hand tighter.

“Well, of course not. You know why I’m here?”

He was so caught up in the moment he forgot to question her motives.

“No.”

“Jason sent me.”

Nico almost ran, but Bianca’s grip was an iron clamp around his wrist.

“It’s okay, Nico. I understand. This doesn’t change anything, you’re still _mio soldatino_.”

Nico threw his arms around her and raked his fingers through her hair. He was shaking like a leaf, and her hands bunched up in his shirt solidified him. He didn’t cry though, he still wasn’t able to, but that was okay, because she cried enough for the both of them.

Eventually she let go, took his face in her hands again, and peppered kisses into his hair and face.

“I love you so much, my baby, I’ve missed you.”

“But — you’re happy with your new family, right?”

“I could never replace you. I stayed away only because I had to. I fought in wars, Nico, I fought with your picture in my helmet.”

He wasn’t sure what to do with all this new information. Bianca came back. She didn’t want to stay away for so long, she thought of him always, and she was supportive of who he is. She kept a picture of him in her helmet. Not even on a particularly good day had he allowed himself to dream something like this.

But there was one thing still bugging him.

“Jason sent you?” he asked, reluctantly letting go of the embrace, but never moving a hand from her arm. He knew that she wouldn’t disappear if he let go, but a part of him didn’t trust that.

“It’s very important that you meet him.”

“B-Bianca,” every time he said her name it sent a jolt of surprise and warmth through him, “I — I’m not sure if this will work out. It’s — It’s only a matter of time until I hurt Jason, because I don’t think I can ever stop protecting myself, but — but my protection is destructive, all I ever do is destroy and I _can’t_ — I can’t, not this time, not —“ he knew that he was babbling, and that Bianca was starting to look worried and he just got her back — all he wanted to do was lie in her arms, to make up for all the lost time, for all the nights when he his brittle bones were the only thing he had to hold, and the drafty attic was the closest thing he had to a home. But Bianca was warm and soft, and her touch never gave him splinters, it healed him. She was _home_. In her grasp, he felt like he had finally come home. He didn’t want to focus on anything else, if he blinked she could be gone and he couldn’t afford to lose her now that he had finally wrapped his mind around the idea of her being here, he couldn’t be alone anymore —

“You’re not alone.” She whispered, running her hands through his hair, “Jason found me. He told me he needed a favor, and Artemis let me visit.”

“Artemis? You’re with the Hunters?”

“Yes.”

“What favor did Jason want from you?”

She smiled knowingly, brushing a hand across his cheeks.

“To make sure you got to the ball.”

“Well, getting there isn’t really the problem…” he bit his lip, “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly easy on the eyes.”

She cocked her head.

“… You’re not at the party because you think you’re ugly?”

“And Persephone ripped up my suit.”

Bianca frowned, her warm amber eyes emanating sympathy. She really was beautiful. She lived up to their name, Bianca _was_ an angel, and Nico… well, he looked more like a soul-sucking ghoul than anything else above the pits of hell. His bony, ghost-white fingers next to her soft, dark ones was a stark contrast. He could hardly believe he was related to someone so stunning.

“That’s okay. I’ve borrowed enough magic to help you.”

“Y-You’re going to fix my suit?” he asked, taken aback by the universe’s magnanimity. One miracle was unheard of, but two in the same day? He squeezed her hand, “Could you make me look more like you, too?”

Her frown deepened.

Nico backtracked.

“I mean, I’m not sure how borrowed magic works, and if there’s not enough that’s fine, just the suit is more than enough, so it’s okay if —”

Bianca held her hand up, like she used to when Nico was rambling, and on instinct his jaw slammed shut.

“Nico, you’re my brother. You sort of have to look like me, that’s genetics.”

“But I got Father’s genes, and you got Mama’s—”

“You’re just in bad shape right now, Nico. You look like Mama just as much as I do.”

“I’m not going to sit here and argue with you about this,” he said tiredly, “Can you just try, a little? To make me more like you?”

Bianca sighed and stood up. Nico mimicked her.

She took a long, black wand out from under her robes and touched it to Nico’s shoulder as if she was knighting him.

“The magic will…”

Bianca’s voice faded as a thick mist settled over Nico. He felt his clothes shift, transforming, and as the whirlwind around him stopped, he could make out the suit, distinctly different from the one Hazel had given him. It was midnight blue, with accents the color of the afternoon sky, and a tailcoat with its sleeves rolled up past his elbows. He wasn’t cold anymore, but it had nothing to do with the clothing. He poked at his ribs, but he couldn’t feel them anymore. Something was in the way.

He looked down at his hands. They were the color of earth, of chocolate, of Jason’s warm wool coat. He ran to the fountain and stared at his reflection in its watery depths. There were no bags under his eyes. His cheeks weren’t hollowed out; they were full of life and color. His eyes weren’t black; they were brown, with Bianca’s radiance and empathy oozing from them in waves. His black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, so it showed off more of his face. Normally that was something he only did out of necessity, but in the fountain’s reflection it looked elegant. His bangs were still hanging out, but they were styled back from his eyes, (where he usually kept them) curling against his cheekbones, effectively framing them. The hair itself was different too, it was soft like Bianca’s — everything about the reflection was soft, even his nose didn’t seem like just a pointed hole in his face.

“You did it,” he breathed, “You really did it!”

He took her hands, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“We look like siblings!”

Although he was excited about the makeover because — well, for once he didn’t have to see that soul-sucking ghoul in the mirror, but what really got his heart fluttering was that it meant he resembled Bianca and Maria. He looked like a di Angelo! Not a second-rate bastard of Hades, or a creature spawned from the pits of hell, but Bianca di Angelo’s little brother, Maria di Angelo’s son.

“We are siblings.”

She was smiling, but there was something sad about it.

“Yeah, but now I look like you! I’m perfect!” The words sounded so weird coming from him. Never in a million years would anyone ever refer to Nico di Angelo as perfect, but he felt it, with Maria’s blood flowing through him, and Bianca’s skin soaking up the moonlight, he felt _perfect_ , like there was finally something right with him.

“You’ve done the impossible,” he threw his arms around her neck, breathing in her earthy smell. It was his now, too, “Thank you, thank you so much. It must’ve taken a lot, I know —”

Bianca let go of him so fast it made his head spin.

“Why are you like this?” she demanded.

Nico would’ve paled if he had the skin tone for it.

The biting in her voice dragged him out of his reverie. It was like all the ones from his nightmares. Was this all the blissful part of his dream? Did he ruin it again; could he not pretend for longer?

Nico shrunk into himself, which was difficult with his newfound body weight. He couldn’t just collapse his bones onto each other the way he used to.

“I’m sorry,” he said brokenly. He’d blown it. Except this was real life, and there would be no waking up from this, “I – I’m so —“

“What are you apologizing for?”

He flinched.

She softened her tone.

“I mean you have nothing to apologize for. It’s just — you weren’t like this before.”

He tried to look down, but she gently lifted his chin up, so their eyes met.

“I’m sorry.” He said again, because he couldn’t think of anything else. He knew that he’d become miserable after Bianca left, but had it really changed him that much?

“What happened while I was gone?” she asked.

“I — I just took on a lot of responsibilities.”

Bianca shook her head.

“What happened to make you doubt yourself?” she rephrased.

Nico rubbed his elbow, still surprised at how smooth his skin felt.

“I don’t _doubt_ myself, Bianca. I know myself.” He shifted, standing a little bit taller, “I’ve had a long time to get acquainted with every repulsive thing about me, and I’m long past sugarcoating it. I know, okay? No matter what you or Jason or Hazel say, I know the truth, so… I don’t know why I keep trying… I’m just too selfish to —”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m a bad omen. I bring pain and suffering wherever I go, and it’s going to spread and I’m going to hurt all of you, I—”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s why you left!” he shouted. The words echoed in the night. Bianca stared at him, her eyes full of melancholy and raw power.

There was deafening silence before she spoke up.

“I left to protect you. Being out there, on the front lines was the only way to make sure you were safe. I made Apollo swear to look after you. Percy, too.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t care, Bianca, I know that you did, but I was suffocating you. I always needed you, I always got in to trouble and you always had to save me. I was a burden.”

“You were never a burden to me,” she trembled, but there was so much authority in her voice, “You were my pride and joy. I never wanted to leave you.”

Nico hugged her again, and her arms were shaky, but strong against his back.

“I believe you,” he breathed into her hair “You came back for me. Y-you love me.”

“I love you.” She agreed, smiling.

“I love you too.”

“Jason’s waiting.”

“I know.” He said, not letting go.

She laughed and kissed his forehead.

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t want to either, but Jason needs you now. I’ll be waiting here for when you return.”

“You will?” he asked, finally limiting their embrace to hand holding.

“Of course. Besides, I have a bone to pick with Persephone.”

Nico leaned in hesitantly and kissed her cheek.

“Okay, I’ll go.”

“There’s one last thing you should know,” she took her wand out again, “At midnight the magic will be undone. You have to get home before then.”

Nico’s shoulder sagged.  
“I’ll go back to being me then?”

So the warm skin and beautiful eyes were temporary. It made sense, he didn’t get to keep many things, and this blessing was no exception. Bianca waiting for him though — that would have to be the exception. He was counting on it now.

“You never stopped being you. I didn’t change your genes, I simply restored your health.”

“ _W-What_? You mean this is me? It can’t be — don’t be ridiculous, that’s impossible—“

“It’s what you could look like if you took better care of yourself.”

“I could look like this?” He looked back to the fountain. The boy who stared back at him was so impossibly different from him, a completely different being, but… maybe she was right. Maybe he could get back to this someday.

“Of course.” She put a hand on his shoulder, and looked down.

“Wait. I forgot to change your shoes, but… I think this wand is all out. Let me trying something…” she rolled the wand in her hand. It was surprisingly pliant underneath her grip, and eventually morphed into a pair of ballroom shoes, “Tah-dah!”

She set the shoes down and he stepped into them. He expected them to clash with the blue, but an opaque sheen covered the black, making it glimmer an assortment of purples and blues. He expected them to be uncomfortable, all sharp angles and biting metal, but it felt like airy gel beneath his feet, and he could almost forget he was wearing them.

“What are they made out of?”

“Stygian iron. It’s typically —”

“Used to make weapons.” He finished, eyes transfixed on them.

Bianca laughed.

“Come on, you have a ball to get to, and I have a stepmother to deal with.” She kissed his cheek and patted him on the back.

He smiled and headed for the palace.

No one stopped him on his way in. They guards were too busy staring to ask if he had an invitation. Nico wasn’t used to anyone looking at him like that; it was unnerving, the way their eyes followed him. He made his way to the entrance and a member of security wordlessly opened the door for him. He gave a shy smile and a little wave as he slipped inside, and when he turned to the party, he froze.

There was a golden staircase curling out on either side of him, separating him from the crowded ballroom floor. The wonderful string quartet he had heard faintly from outside had fallen silent. Every pair of eyes, servant’s, nobleman’s, musician’s, all turned to him. The sound of the door slamming behind him reverberated for a finite eternity, and he wilted under the attention, wishing more than ever that he could just melt into the shadows. The crowd didn’t look horrified per se, but stunned, like he had just pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Maybe they were all realizing he was a trespasser? It couldn’t have been that obvious, but Nico never underestimated his ability to get into trouble.

A few coughs came from the instrument section, and the music slowly started again. Nico clung to the bannister and made his way down the stairs as quickly as he could, not daring to look over at the sea of guests. People resumed their dancing, but he couldn’t get their faces out of his head. Why couldn’t he have just slipped through the back door, grabbed Jason, and left?

Although he wasn’t the complete center of attention anymore, people still stared as he walked past, trying to get to his and Jason’s meeting place. He tripped over a foot and went tumbling into someone.

He heard laughing and his face felt hot. The whole ballroom probably saw him fall.

But when he opened his eyes, only a few people were staring. And only one person was laughing, the guy he fell on.

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

It was Jason’s voice.

Nico scrambled to get off him, and Jason stood, offering a hand to help him up.

Jason wore a suit that made him look like a celebrated war general, ivory with imperial gold trimming. His eyes sparkled with mirth.

“I was getting worried you wouldn’t show,” he hooked arms with Nico, “That was quite the entrance, by the way.”

If it was possible, his face felt even hotter. He wasn’t sure his new skin tone betrayed that as easily, though. Thank the gods for small miracles.

“I didn’t mean to do that. ‘M not even sure what I did.” He muttered.

“You… You’re beautiful! I think a couple guys almost fainted.” Jason laughed, steering them toward the back, where the crowd thinned. Nico was grateful.

“How did you recognize me?”  
“Are you serious?” Jason’s smile fell a bit when he turned to look at Nico, “Okay, you’re serious… You know, you don’t look that different, just… healthier. I don’t think it’s the magic; I think it’s you.” He squeezed his hand. Nico scowled. He wasn’t used to so much… _positive_ attention. He felt out of place at the center of Jason’s, even with the whole “magical blessing” thing going on.

“Well, have fun with it while you can, I turn back at midnight.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me.”

Nico rolled his eyes.

“You have until then to prove… whatever it is you came here to prove.”

“Oh, I will,” he smiled, unhooking elbows and holding both his hands, “But we should enjoy the evening first.”

“Uh… this is probably a bad time to mention I don’t dance, isn’t it?” he asked nervously, letting go of Jason’s hand and running his fingers through his bangs.

“Everyone dances.”

“I, um… I only know how to dance as the lead.”

“Then lead.” Jason placed Nico’s hand on his hip, and put his own hand on Nico’s shoulder. He intertwined their free hands, giving Nico the cheesiest grin he’d ever seen.

“Um, uh, o-okay.”

He started forward a bit awkwardly, but Jason stepped back, quick to accommodate him. As the violins picked up, so did their pace, rounding faster and faster as Nico got the hang of Jason’s rhythm. He closed his eyes, let the sound of the music and his partner’s warm breath fill him, his feet moving to both of them, and it felt so similar to his fighting style that he half-expected to see his normal sparring partner when he opened his eyes. Something dangerously warm spread through his chest when he was met with a smiling, breathless Jason instead. He wasn’t sure exactly when he had started to appreciate Jason’s constant presence, or when he had stopped caring about Percy’s constant absence, but in that moment he sure that if Percy decided to make out with his girlfriend right in Nico’s face, he wouldn’t even bat an eye. Because all insecurities and attempts to “save” Jason from himself aside, he’d never wanted anything more.

Jason spun around and rolled back into Nico’s chest, the son of Hades’ arms wrapping around his shoulders as Jason leaned against him.

“Now dip me.” He giggled.

Nico did, his bangs tickling Jason’s forehead, a smile curling on his lips as he leaned in. Jason closed his eyes, tilting his head up to meet Nico — only to be dropped on his ass as fast as humanly possible. The blonde landed on the ground with a thump, looking up to see Nico doubling over laughing.

“Oh my god —“ he said in between peals of laughter, “Your face! You… you were so in the moment I had to do it I’m sor—”

Although seeing such a carefree laugh from him was a rare and stunning sight, Jason recovered quickly enough to get to his feet and dip Nico. The boy had an expression that was half-panic and half-amusement.

“Don’t you dare drop me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He smiled, letting his grip on Nico slip just enough for him to drop a little.

“I mean it!” he shrieked, clinging to Jason’s neck for dear life, “If I hit the floor you are _dead_.”

“Oh you won’t.” He put his arm under Nico’s knees and lifted him up. Nico’s look of half-amusement and half-panic melted into pure panic.

“Put me down!”

“You hitting the floor and me dying are directly linked, so I really can’t have that.”

“You’re going to be dead either way if you don’t —” He froze, staring in horror somewhere just beyond Jason.

He turned around.

It hadn’t been as bad as when Nico first made his entrance, but there was still a considerable amount of people gawking at them. He just smiled and gave a little wave, unfazed, but Nico looked like he wanted to disappear, settling on burying his face into Jason’s chest.

Thankfully they were already near the back, so it was easy for Jason to slip them out onto the terrace.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said, setting Nico down on his feet, “I forgot —”

“It’s okay.” Nico gritted his teeth, dusting himself off and not looking at Jason.

“Are you going to leave?” Jason asked dejectedly, rubbing at his forearm.

Nico looked back up at him, amusement flickering underneath his lightened eyes.

“Why? You want me to go?”

“No!” Nico raised an eyebrow at that. Jason lowered his voice, “No, I just thought that you might leave because I sort of embarrassed you and —”

“L-Listen,” Nico stepped out in front of him, pulling the ends of his jacket down, biting the inside of his mouth, focusing all his effort on looking Jason in the eye, “I know I’m a handful and probably the biggest mistake of your life, but… I want to try. To get better at being… _public_ , I guess. And being with you in general. I know I’m going to make excuses or try to convince myself this isn’t real, because I just — I can’t get hurt again, and I’ve never trusted anyone enough to let go of all that, but I want to try with you, so just… remember that when I get hard to handle, okay?”

“Of course.” Jason promised, and Nico rolled his eyes, anxiety dissipating from him.

The music drifted in softly from the cracked door, a slow song this time, with a melody like molasses, the piano becoming the centerpiece, smooth notes flowing out from its keys, lower in volume but not in anyway dulled. Jason wrapped his arms around Nico, his hands meeting at the back of his neck, and although Nico tensed under him, eventually he put his hands around Jason’s waist and they swayed to the music. If Nico was any taller or if Jason was any shorter, he would’ve rested his head against Nico’s shoulders. As it was, he’d have to crane, so he contented to tucking Nico under his chin. Said son of Hades laughed, his breath tickling Jason’s collarbones.

“You know I can’t lead like this.”

“You had your turn.” Jason smirked, pointedly shifting right and making Nico stumble a little to regain his balance.

“You’re an awful lead.” He laughed, pulling back, “But if you’re serious about trying after I totally decimated the lead game, we’re going to have to do this right.” He placed Jason’s hand on his hips and threw his arms around his neck.

“There. Now try.”

Nico rested his cheek against Jason’s chest, and he almost went into paralysis at the gesture. He regained his composure enough to lead, cupping the back of Nico’s head.

“Thank you,” Jason said, playing with his loose curls, “I know that this is big for you.”

“It’s not as earth-shattering as I thought it would be,” he drawled, “I’m not really sure what I was afraid of. Maybe that you would dump me on my ass after I let you in.”

“You mean like you did to me?”

Nico crinkled his nose.

“I was thinking something less affectionate.”

“You’re telling me that was affectionate?”

“You didn’t break any bones, did you?” Nico smirked, but it faded and his eyes flitted to the floor, “I guess what I mean is that it’s just… hard to accept sometimes. I mean, you’ve given me plenty of time to think, and I’m grateful for that, really, but… I’m just not sure why anyone would like me, let alone someone like you.”

“What do you mean, someone like me?”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” His voice was as hard as his stygian slippers.

“Well by your tone I’m going to assume you mean someone who trips over everything all the time and can’t handle housework without breaking something and cries after his first kiss.”

Nico stopped dancing.

“I was your first kiss?” he gaped at him, “That was your — you must’ve kissed someone before me. A girlfriend or anything? There has to be someone.”

“Nope. I was betrothed to someone, but they had to cancel on me.” He reaffirmed his grip on Nico, and they began to slow dance again.

“Someone shot you down?” he asked incredulously.

“Yup. The point is I’m human. I have flaws, same as you.”

“You may not be perfect, Jason, but you’re sure not me.”

“I have more faults than there are fish in the sea, Nico.”

“Oh, yeah?” he leered, “Well, I have more faults than there are stars in the sky.”

“Are you trying to one up me?”

“I don’t even have to try. Being a disappointment just comes naturally to me.”

Jason’s expression hardened.

“You’re not a disappointment.”

“Oh, lighten up, would you?” Nico joked, but his voice faltered, “It really says something if I have to be the one to tell you that.”

Jason huffed.  
“The point of coming here was to prove to you I’m not perfect.”

“Did you expect your dancing to be that bad?”

“No, it’s because… well, it’s something I have to show you, but before that…” he took his hands off Nico’s waist and clamped them down on both his shoulders, “I-I… Honestly, I’m not sure how you’re going to react. You could brush it off as no big deal or never talk to me again, and I…I’m scared. You don’t really seem to get it,” he laughed shakily, raking his fingers through his hair, “But I’m _terrified_ right now, because you… you’re everything to me and I _can’t_ lose you.”

He brushed Nico’s hair back, taking in the sheer magnitude of those sparkling brown eyes as they focused, unwavering, on him.

“I love you.” He finished, hands practically shaking as they settled on Nico’s face.

“Really?” he asked breathlessly, looking younger than Jason had ever seen him.

“Really.”

“I love you too,” he said, hesitantly wrapping his fingers around Jason’s wrists “May I possibly kiss you right now?”

“You may.”

It was a longer kiss than last time, slower, and he was content to let Nico take it at whatever pace he was comfortable.

When they broke away, Nico’s was still pretty close to him, and they smiled dumbly for a bit before Nico blew in his face, laughing.

“You’re a sap.” He giggled.

“What can I say? You bring out the sap in me. With your beautiful voice and chocolate eyes, can you really blame me?”

“Okay, now you’re doing it on purpose.”

“Only because you’re being adorable on purpose.”

“Stop it! I’m pretty sure you’re inflating the sappy compliment market.”

“Yeah, it starts to sound weird after a while. _Sap_. Who came up with that?”

“Probably the first sap. Or maybe a tree?”

“The first sap could have been a tree. And it, like, taught humans really cheesy pick up lines and the meaning of love or something.”

“…You’re weird.” Nico laughed, standing on the tips of his toes and asking a quick “may I?” before kissing his cheek.

“And that’s weird.”

“What?”

“You letting me kiss you.”

Jason laughed.

“You don’t have to ask permission every time, you know.”

“Really? So I can just…” he pressed his lips to Jason’s jawline, “Do that?”

Jason eyes were clamped shut, his brows furrowed.

“You can’t just — do that.”

“But you just said —“

Jason returned the favor, leaning down to kiss his neck. Nico fingers became tangled in Jason’s hair, and he understood what he meant by not being able to just _do that_.  Jason kept going, and Nico opened his mouth to protest but —

“ ** _Jason_**!” Came a booming roar. They split apart immediately, and while Nico’s face was red, Jason’s went sheet white.

“Ugh, y-your Majesty. This is, uh…” he gestured to Nico, but the words seemed to fail him.

The man stepped out of the shadows. His hair was jet black and adorned by a gilded crown that seemed to give him a honey glow. His robes were of the same color, rich and flowing across his legs in the evening breeze. His regal face was contorted in a scowl, and Nico had no doubt about who this man was.

“K-King Zeus.” Nico bowed.

“Get up,” Zeus growled, then turned to Jason, “This isn’t who you wanted me to meet, is it?”

“Well, you were a bit early —”

“Him?” Zeus cried, “He’s a son of Hades. An illegitimate one at that.”

Nico winced.

“You’ve barely met him —“

“I will not have my only heir led astray by some doe-eyed manservant! It’s unfortunate that Reyna called off the engagement, but that does not mean you can parade around with anyone you want!”

“Heir?” Nico asked quietly, and even Zeus went silent at the danger behind his soft tone, “You’re Jason _Grace._ ”

“Nico —”

“My deepest apologies for the confusion, your Majesty,” Nico raised his voice, addressing Zeus, “But there is no future for me and your son. If you would excuse me…”

He marched right past the king, and into the ballroom. He pushed past guests and kept his gaze down, trying not to meet any of their eyes. He could hear Jason call his name, but he kept going, practically flying up the staircase and past the guards. Outside, he could hear another pair of footsteps tearing after him, reverberating in the courtyard, and he turned sharply.

“I understand now.” He said, his voice full of strength.

“Wh — Nico, he, I wanted to —”

“It’s okay. I know where I stand with you, and this doesn’t change any of that. But you have a kingdom to think about, and I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

“B-But I love you.” He said desperately, panting. Nico brushed his hair back and looked into his eyes.

“I know that. I do. And I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done, for everything you’ve given me, but… Well, it’s selfish of us — of me, to let things continue.”

“Why?”

Nico raised an eyebrow, giving Jason a grave smile.

“You can’t keep your people’s loyalties and me at the same time. Do you think that your men would follow you into battle if they knew about us? Do you think your advisors wouldn’t try to usurp your throne?”

“I don’t care about that, I’ve never cared about that, I just want to be with you.”

“I know that,” he said again, holding Jason’s hands, “But you have your future to think about. You’re going to make the best king — you’re going to be fair and just and kind and there will be parades in your name and statues in your honor. You may think that you want to give it up, but —” he hiccupped, “But you’ll realize that this is all just meaningless. And that your people need you.”

“I never wanted this!” he yelled, “I’ve struggled my whole life with who I’m supposed to be and living up to expectations and I’m finally realizing that it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what people think, I don’t care if some tin cans take my orders, I don’t care if someone takes my bloodline off the throne, or if I’ll be remembered. But I’ll tell you what I do care about. I care about what’s going to happen to you after tonight. I care about where you sleep, how many splinters you have, how many cuts and bruises and scars. I care about what you eat and how often, how many times you laugh in a day and what causes it, I care about how radiant you are when you’re excited, and how able you are to just carry everyone on your shoulders without complaint. I care about why you do the things you do and how you feel. Damn it, Nico, I care about _you_.”

He just stared at him for a moment, as if Jason was just a dream he’d have to wake up from. Then he smiled. Small at first, but he couldn’t keep it from spreading, to splitting his face and pulling a chuckle from his lips.

“I _know_ , I know, I can hardly believe it, but somehow I know you do. That doesn’t change my position, though. I don’t want you to throw your life away.”

“You’re — you’re not even giving me a choice!”  
“Because you’re not thinking clearly enough to make one.”

“Yes, I am. Even before you, I never wanted to be king. For so long I had no idea what I wanted, but I now I do. I want you.”

“Jason —”

“I’ll always want you. I’d give up this kingdom and everything I’ve ever known. I know you don’t think so, but you’re worth it. You’re so much more than worth it, y-you’re kind to a fault and wise beyond your years and so, so beautiful.”

“Not for long.” Nico said grimly, raising his arms up, “It’s almost midnight.”

It started at the tips of his fingers and branched out, replacing the warm olive with a pale, sickly white.

“You can’t leave now.”

The tie in his hair evaporated, letting it fall back down in tangles.

“I —“ he looked down at his body, wondering what blessing would leave him next.

The pounds melted off of him, practically exposing his bones through paper-thin skin. He loss a couple inches he hadn’t even realized he’d gained, and the suit seemed too roomy now, its sleeves hanging down below his finger tips.

“I really, _really_ , have to.” He panted, spinning around on his heel and taking off down the steps.

“No, wait —”

“I’m turning back, Jason, you shouldn’t be seen with me.” He called over his shoulder.

His eyes blackened and shadows gathered underneath them.

“Just listen to me!” Jason pleaded.

The suit faded, leaving only rags in their wake. Nico took off his shoe and chucked it at Jason’s head.

“No!” he screamed, disappointed but also relieved when Jason only caught it.

He took off his other shoe and ran as fast as he could with it in his hand. He ducked underneath tree branches and jumped over roots, effectively ditching Jason and finally making it back to the House of Hades.

When he barged in, Bianca was sitting on the couch, giving him a funny look. He immediately ran to her, and she wrapped her arms around his back, rubbing soothing circles into it.

“What happened?”

Nico was silent for a bit, just letting himself appreciate Bianca’s strong arms around him. He realized it couldn’t last forever, nothing good ever did. He would have to break the silence eventually.

“H-He’s a _prince_.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“He’s going to be king one day. And I – I won’t – I can’t be around to see it.”

“Why not?”  
“Because if I’m there, he won’t be! He has a future, Bianca, I can’t let him throw that away,  h-he’ll realize that I…”

“Shhh…. It’s okay, baby, everything will work out. He’s not going to let you go so easily, you know.”

“But h-he… I don’t — I’m _scared_.”

And an impossible thing happened. Nico started _crying_. He didn’t even really care that he was doing so for the first time in five years; the night was already filled with so many other impossibilities, what’s one more?

Bianca hoisted him up into her lap like she always used to do, and Nico buried his face in her chest.

“What are you scared of, Nico?”

“It’s complicated.” He whimpered.

“I take it this isn’t just about Jason’s future.”

“No.” he replied miserably. He was close enough that he could hear Bianca’s heartbeat, ticking like a timer, telling him that the words were long over due and if he didn’t confide in someone, he’d have to bury it deep, underneath everything and he doesn’t have a lot of room left there.

“I don’t want to be exposed,” he confessed, his fists bunching the fabric of her jacket, “I’m not ready — I…”

“Since Jason’s a prince, you’re scared that everyone’s going to know about the two of you.” Bianca deduced.

Nico nodded, and she carded her fingers through his hair.  

“I’m not going to lie and say that no one will mind. People will, just not people worth caring about. The people who’re important to you — they won’t even bat an eye, if they’re halfway decent. But, just know that it’s okay. It’s okay to be scared, for now.”

“What about Jason? How’re people going to treat him?”

“I’m pretty sure he knew what he was getting into from the start. You don’t have to worry about — Hazel?”

“Hazel?” Nico sat up.

Hazel stood on the steps, knuckling her eyes and looking generally perplexed.

“Nico?”

Her hand dropped and she ran over to them, throwing her arms around his neck and sitting on the couch with her knees tucked under her.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Probably not,” he admitted, eyes flitting between both his sisters, “But I will be.”

Bianca put her other arm around Hazel, and kissed both their foreheads.

They fell asleep like that.

Jason came over the next day. Bianca answered the door, wearing one of Persephone’s old dresses.

“Is Nico around? I know he doesn’t want me coming back here, but he left his shoe,” he lowered his voice and leaned in, “Please, I just need a couple minutes to talk with him.”

“Take all the time you need.” Said a voice from inside.

Jason gawked.

Nico stood behind her, hair pushed back behind his ears, exposing his dark eyes. They didn’t look too dark anymore, though, maybe not as bright as when Bianca’s magic restored him to full health, but getting there. The bags under his eyes didn’t seem so pronounced. He wore a dark green-ish gray suit with a gilded sheen that made him look more regal. Well, no, it wasn’t really the suit. It was Nico. He looked more confident, more comfortable in his own skin, and the ramrod straightness of his back, the tilt of his chin, tied everything else into place.

“Well,” Nico smiled, “You needed to talk with me?”

“Y-Yeah, right, of course.”

“Come on,” Nico laughed, and Jason was pretty sure it was at his expense, “Let’s take a walk.”

It was a quarter past twelve and they walked through the winding paths of the hillside, a cloudless sky stretching out in every direction above their heads. The staccato melody of birds chirping flittered through the air, and Nico hummed along, filling Jason with an immeasurable sense of peace.

“What was it you needed to tell me?” Nico asked after a while, a bit amused, and a bit nervous.

“You said you wanted to try, that no matter what excuses you made, you really did want to try with me.”

“I did. Still do.”

Jason laughed at that. He practically had a speech memorized for the occasion, and Nico was just agreeing with him.

“What happened after you left?”  
“I thought things through… realized some things, too. Bianca leaving, my dad and Percy never acknowledging me… it left a dent. I didn’t realize how big until someone came along and tried to fix it,” Nico slid his hand into Jason’s and gave it a squeeze, “The thing is, I couldn’t let someone come along and fix it. They could help, but it was always something I had to do for myself. Only I could change the way I thought about myself, and the way I let myself love. For so long I thought that I had to be protected — either by myself, or by someone I could trust, and although I thought I had run out of people to trust, and the will to do it myself, none of that really mattered. I don’t need protection. I need to live, not without fear, because I know there are parts of me that will always be afraid, but without inhibition. Bad things are just going to happen, not because of something I did or because I deserve it. Just because that’s how the universe clambers on, because I can’t control everyone’s actions, just my own. And one of my next actions is going to be kiss you, because it’s something I want to do and because I don’t care what other people think, either.”

Nico kept his word, grabbing Jason by the collar and dragging him down into a kiss. Jason grabbed at his waist, helpless for a moment under the distinct urge to kiss Nico di Angelo back.

“I have your shoe.” Jason said dumbly after he had let go.

“Forget the shoe.”

But Jason doesn’t. He can feel it in his free hand, black and cold, but glowing with daylight.

Nico di Angelo is not glass. He’s not titanium, either. He is Stygian iron, dark and deadly, unmoving and beautiful, not entirely invincible, but not entirely breakable either. When given the proper care, he shines like he’s made of diamonds.

“What happens now?” Jason asked.

“Now?” Nico smiled, “Now we live happily ever after.”

  
      

**Author's Note:**

> there are so many loose ends hahaha gomen


End file.
